A.N.: Hello and welcome to my 17th story. Here is a small tribute to one of my favorite comic book character villains: Prince Penguin! He appears most notably in Mickey Mouse Adventures issues #11, 12, and 14.

Also It's my Birthday today! But regardless of that I hope you enjoy this little fic so much that you'll review, even if it's one word I'll take it!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Disney with the exception of The Ace of Spades, and her brother, Alfonzo T. Gato.

When Minnie woke up, she had no idea where she was. Nothing looked familiar at all, and looking around, it seemed as if she were in a dressing room of sorts...with a heart shaped bed she was nestled quite comfortably in. What made her feel uneasy however, (besides the fact that the bed was heart shaped) was that her head was throbbing as if she were experiencing a hangover, but she was certain that she didn't drink last night. Let's see the last thing she remembered was...having a conversation with Prince Penguin about antiques while he played the piano, drinking iced tea... in his lair...surely he didn't slip her a Mickey (pardon the pun) did he? He really didn't seem like the type, but then...she had been kidnapped by him, and it was cold in here. As much as Prince Penguin hated the cold, he said he needed it because of some ridiculous legend that says if his people become too warm - they would melt away. So really there was no other explanation as to where else she could be.

Then she looked down and found that she was in a wedding dress!...Of sorts... Had this been any other situation, say, her actual marriage to the mouse of her dreams, and this dress was something she picked out, she would have been blissfully happy. However, this was not the case. The dress was definitely something she WOULD NOT have picked out, as it was fur-lined and skimpy and just plainly didn't feel right, because she felt so exposed. She had no idea where she was, but she had an inkling that she was in a different part of Prince Penguin's lair, a part that she hadn't seen yet to be exact. Because it was cold, her faux wedding dress provided enough warmth that the cold wasn't too bad, thought that didn't mean it was any less comfortable. And since she was in this faux wedding dress, she had an obviously funny feeling her groom was definitely not Mickey.

Sure enough her answers were confirmed when a cat girl came in, without knocking of all things, probably assuming Minnie was still asleep. Minnie recognized this girl, but couldn't quite place where she had known her from. Then the girl noticed Minnie was awake, and did a shy curtsy.

"I see you're finally awake," the girl said uncertainly, as if she were nervous about something. That's when Minnie placed the girl's identity, she was that notorious, man-stealing, flirtatious, globe-trotting, jewel thief Mickey somehow always failed to capture, the Ace of Spades.

"You!" Minnie practically screeched, picking up a bedside table lamp after mentally putting a few more pieces together. One of Minnie's high class business associates, Alfonzo T. Gato, had mentioned he had a sister whose reputation was quite famous to a criminal degree for being a jewel thief. Which he had thought was terribly ironic since the both of them had grown up in high society. Evidently, not only was Spade nervous about Minnie knowing who she was, but also Minnie figuring out the fact that Spade was the one who dressed Minnie in the faux wedding dress while she was unconscious.

"Now, now, I know I'm not exactly someone you'd like to see right now, nor someone you'd like to trust for that matter," Spade backed up a few steps with her hands up in defense. "But you must know, that even though I don't expect you to wholeheartedly trust me, you're gonna have to if you want to get out of here unmarried to Prince Penguin. I honestly don't want you to go through with this."

"Give me one other good reason why I should trust you," Minnie tested. Though Spade did hesitate, like Minnie expected her to, the cat burglar spoke solemnly and sincerely.

"Because I'm not sure the Ace of Hearts will be able to rescue you in time this time." Minnie knew exactly who she was referring to,it was a name Spade used to refer to him frequently. In fact Minnie was sure Spade never spoke his true name, even to his face.

"You mean Mickey, don't you?" Minnie asked skeptically, she wasn't going to let her guard down even for a minute. The cat simply nodded. "And why would you think he won't make it?"

"Because you're underestimating Prince Penguin. He has walrus guards all over the place, and they're armed with tazers. No matter how fast and efficient we both know your beloved is, he's not going to get by those walruses without getting shocked into unconsciousness a few times," Spade said with a seriousness that Minnie hadn't heard from Spade before, not that she's known her personally either mind you.

"You're wrong! Mickey will make it in time to rescue me!" Minnie shrieked back in defiance.

Spade sighed in defeated exasperation. Both mice were stubborn as all get out. "Believe what you want. I'm just merely warning you ahead of time, so you're not too brokenhearted after the wedding should I just let you go through with this like a purrfectly good salmon getting tossed into the garbage. Pardon the cat pun."

Then a knock was heard at the door and an impatient walrus guard spoke. "That dame ready yet? The Boss is getting antsy!"

"Just a minute! Beauty takes time!" Spade called back. Then she turned back to Minnie and handed her the bouquet and whispered, "All the walrus guards have tazers, even the ones right outside that door. One wrong move and they won't hesitate to shock the dickens out of you or me, even if they're supposed to be gentle with you by Prince Penguin's orders."

Minnie knew she had little choice but to comply with all that was happening. But that wasn't going to stop her from trying to figure out how to stall for time, or Spade helping out in whatever way she could for that matter, until Mickey came and whisked here away from this awful place.

"...I...I...do..."

Waking up in a cold sweat from a really sketchy nightmare is both a hassle and a relief. The relief being he realization that the nightmare wasn't real, while the hassle is the sweating itself. Which was right along with the possibility of waking one's sleeping partner.

Mickey cautiously looked down to his left to see if he had indeed woken up his wife. He sighed, relieved that he hadn't and the fact she was still there. That she was still his. This alone was the utmost relieving fact of all. He was sitting up at the moment, due to forcing himself awake from the most bizarre nightmare he's ever had, and yet it seemed a little too real for his liking. So he slowly eased himself to lay back down, carefully so he wouldn't wake up Minnie.

Usually she'd wake up if he had a nightmare, but then...that was usually because he would wake up screaming 'No!' and he was pretty sure he only gasped upon waking up this time. Which was definitely something he was glad for since he didn't want to worry Minnie with something as ridiculous, yet disturbing, as this nightmare.

Granted Mickey has had dreams that have taken place in his past before, mostly consisting of his memories before he married Minnie and occasionally those memories get twisted and take a different direction than whatever had actually happened. The only major difference with this particular nightmare is that he saw it in Minnie's point of view, and he even had her mindset down to pat, which was something he could hardly believe now that he was thinking about it. That never usually happened especially with so much accuracy. He then started wondering if they somehow linked minds through their dreams in the middle of the night. But that couldn't be it, she was still asleep, and he wasn't about to wake her up and ask.

In any case he hoped to high heavens that Minnie couldn't feel the echo of his fast paced heartbeat on the bed, as he shifted to his side that faced away from her. What soon made his skin crawl however, was that he felt her shift too, and knowing her - she probably shifted to face him, even though she was just previously on her back.

"Mickey...You alright?" she drawled sleepily just above a whisper. Great, she is awake now and the jig was up, and he'd have to explain everything to her...or maybe not...He was fine. The wedding ring on his left hand proved that the nightmare could never come true.

"Mm-hm, I'm okay, Min. Now go on back ta sleep, I'll see ya in the mornin'," he whispered back softly.

"Not until you kiss me goodnight~," she sang, sounding much more awake now. He saw right through her little trap to bribe him into talking with a kiss. But at the same time he didn't care, for who in their right mind would turn down such an offer? Certainly not Mickey Mouse, that's for sure.

"Heh, yer too good ta me," Mickey said smugly as he turned over to face her.

"Only because you're too good to me," Minnie replied with just as much smugness, as their lips soon met. Again Mickey, knew this kiss was a bribe to get him to talk, but he could care less about that as he wanted to enjoy the kiss itself while it lasted...Which wasn't for very long since Minnie pulled away after a few mere seconds. "Now are you going to tell me what your nightmare was about?"

"Nope," Mickey stated simply and turned right back around, facing away from her again.

"Mickey~" she started sternly.

"It's nothin' fer ya ta worry 'bout, Minnie. It wasn't too bad now that I know it wasn't real, and the fact that it could never happen in a million years. And it wasn't even scary...just creepy beyond reason really, an' trust me when I say ya don't wanna know otherwise," he argued.

"Are you sure?" Her tone softened as she wrapped her tail around his ankle. It was her little way of showing that she was there if he did want to talk about it.

"Positive Minnie. It was one of those 'past' dreams of mine, so it was stupid. Convincingly creepy, but stupid. Nothin' fer ya ta worry 'bout," He replied without hesitance.

"One of those huh? How far back was it this time?" Minnie asked curiously with innocence, hoping to coax the details of the nightmare out of him. After all, talking about their bad dreams helped them get back to sleep, so they wouldn't dream it again. Plus of course, he had told her some of these 'past' dreams before and how far back in the past they were tended to vary from dream to dream.

"Just the usual, from back in the days before we got married," Mickey sighed in defeat, and turned back over to face her. He decided to give in and tell her as much as he dared without giving HER nightmares about it, but if she pestered him into telling her exact details he'd try to avoid it until the best opportunity came. If he didn't tell her what she wanted to hear she'd bug him about it for the rest of the night, and they'd never get any sleep.

"Anything specific?" She asked cutely, scooting closer to him and wrapped her arms around his torso.

"Oh, nothin' much...Just that Prince Penguin fiasco," he answered nonchalantly. Minnie paused and blinked at this, then she sighed with exasperation as she pulled back a hand to rub one of her temples. She knew all too well of what he was talking about.

"Really? And what about it made it a nightmare, hm?"

"That should be obvious since it was Prince Penguin, but if ya really want some specifics, then it's cause he was forcin' ya ta marry him. Had ya all dolled up in a weddin' dress an' everythin'!" Mickey huffed in resentment.

"Was the dress fur-lined or skimpy?" She asked after another pause. Though she couldn't see it, her husband had turned redder than his usual pair of shorts. She could only tell because it took him a minute to answer.

"...Both."

"Oh-ho, Mickey! Now how did I know that?" She giggled.

"Well, gee Min, we've been together for who-knows-how-long that ya just happen ta know me so well," he said sarcastically.

"Mmm, true, true. But that doesn't explain why it was scary enough to wake you," She prodded.

"Did I neglect to mention that fer some odd reason it was in yer point of view? 'Cause I was seeing everythin' as you and I even had yer personality and mannerisms all accurate. So, that and the fact that ol' fish breath was forcin' ya ta marry him should be self explanatory, Minnie," he deadpanned, he getting close to just telling her and letting her have her own nightmares about it, but he resisted since he wanted to see where it would go.

"I don't see why it should be. What if you actually didn't have me entirely in character? After all, I can't always read your mind." This was true in the fact that Mickey was generally a very easy person to read given how expressive he was about everything. However, there were times when he would keep his thoughts to himself completely, and it would get to the point where he was deemed unreadable, though it would be obvious that he was sulking over something. And she was right, there was a slight chance that he didn't have her entirely in character. But he was sure he did, since he had her fighting until the end in a way that only she really would. Of course Mickey thought of a way to turn off from the subject of him keeping her in character as he saw through her eyes.

"Minnie, there was one quality that he had that I didn't, and still don't have, and it was enough ta make me worry then and subconsciously now apparently," Mickey huffed again.

"And what quality would that be?"

"An interest in antiques," Mickey blushed. Minnie giggled at him but made her tone a little bit more serious when she spoke.

"Mickey, you do realize that if that was all I cared about, then I wouldn't have married you, right?

"Oh sure I know that, but did that stop him? No siree bob!" In defiance he turned away from her.

"What scared you into waking up?" She persisted, knowing that he was still hiding something. She was answered with silence for a good five minutes. Hoping he didn't fall asleep, she tried again, "Mickey?"

"I didn't make it in time." That, and the horrifying fact that Prince Penguin was practically slobbering all over her before the minister could even finish saying 'You may now kiss the bride,' But Mickey wasn't going to tell her that just yet. It was his trump card. "Ya were tryin' every excuse in the book ta stall fer time so's I could get there. Then Mr. Fish Breath got sick of yer excuses and called in a super hypnotist with freaky blue skin and purple hair, ta force ya inta sayin' 'I do'." Even The Ace of Spades tried to help, but that was a minor detail that Minnie didn't need to know about.

"Oh, Mickey," she muttered sadly in sympathy. She hugged him tightly from behind, kissing his shoulder lightly.

"But as I said, it wasn't real so I'm fine. G'night, Min." He raised on of her hands enough to kiss it and then settled himself. However, Minnie wasn't done with him yet.

"Mickey, you do know that if anything like that had actually happened, I would've run away, right?"

"Trust me, I know. Ya wanted ta run the moment ya woke up in that weddin' dress, but there were walrus guys all over the place, and they had tazers on 'em if ya tried anything funny. What scared me the most was that I didn't make it in time ta rescue ya. Ya said 'I do' through yer hypnosis and then I woke up - end of story!" He really didn't want to talk about it at that point, even his little trump card seemed unnecessary.

"Oh, Mickey, I'm so sorry," she said sadly, hugging him even tighter.

"It's okay Min, I'm just glad it wasn't real. I don't know what I'd do without ya," he replied solemnly.

"Aww, I don't know what I'd do without you either," Minnie cooed, and then kissed his neck again. After a few seconds, she had an after thought of a minor detail Mickey had let slip but didn't further explain. "That's still not all of it, is it? Otherwise why would you say it was creepy?" That's when Mickey decided to use his trump card.

"Ya saw right through me again, Minnie. Bein' forced ta say 'I do' isn't the exact reason I woke up either. I'll tell ya what really woke me up, just remember that ya asked fer it, alright?" He turned around to face her again as he spoke and subtly started scooting himself toward the edge of the bed.

"Alright," she complied, quirking her eyebrow at him.

"This is Prince Penguin we're dealing with here an' ya know better than I do about how much he liked ya and not just because ya were a fellow antique collector. So, with that in mind, and the fact that my nightmare consisted of him forcin' ya ta marry him...rhetorically speaking, how do you honestly think he'd kiss ya when the minister said 'ya may now kiss the bride,'?" As he let it sink into her head of exactly what Prince Penguin did to her in his little nightmare, he made it out of the bed and started running into the guest bedroom. He just made it to their own bedroom door when she threw a pillow at him that made contact.

"Mickey Mouse!" She shrieked at him. Obviously she figured it out.

"Hey, I told ya that ya wouldn't want ta know but ya didn't listen ta me didjya?!" He called back from the guest bedroom. "It's yer own darn fault that yer so gosh darn pretty!"

He locked himself in the guest bedroom for a reason. She couldn't sleep very well without him being there. Well, she was the one who wanted to know oh-so badly why he woke up from his nightmare, so it was her own darn fault anyway.

It took a good half an hour before Minnie finally gave up on banging on the guest bedroom door for Mickey. It was probably the only time they agreed to not sleep next to each other, even if only one of them gave into that fact reluctantly. So they eventually slept through the remainder of the night peacefully.

But don't worry. They'll kiss and make up in the morning.

The End