A/N:

Fun fact! The idea for this chapter's has been around since like, the *beginning* of this fic. In fact, on my scratch roadmap I never bothered to update - the idea was marked for Chapter 13. I got…A little sidetracked.

As for other notes, at the end of this chapter I nearly decided to cut to the chase and have it be revealed to Phillip that he was Belos, but- I decided nah, gonna wait a little longer for that one :P

Cuz like, in the moment it'd be cool. It'd be shocking. But it would also fuck up my entire planned story flow for one cool moment, and I'd prefer my story be 'predictable' than incoherent.

The Limbousine eventually arrived at Bump's little cottage, right on time too! - 8 o'clock, on the dot. Phillip opened the door and stood up from the Limbo, before grabbing the bouquet of flowers. Walking up the stone path, Currant flew ahead and helpfully rung the doorbell for her owner.

A moment later, the door opened and revealed one Hieronymus Bump. Comparatively? He was wearing a pretty basic outfit - Dress slacks and a button-up shirt.

But that didn't matter to Phillip! He thought his date looked amazing. Truly, a beauty matched by nothing on the Boiling Isles nor on earth. Handing over the bouquet with a shy smile on his face, "Here, this is for you."

"Oh, t…thank you." Bump muttered, his face turning as red as Frewin. He'd dated before, of course - but nobody had truly pulled out all the stops like this. Those flowers, and- that suit…

After a moment he took ahold of the flowers and gave them a small sniff. They smelled lovely. "These would make a great addition to my garden." he peeped. If he was going to plant them, then he needed to get them in water right now! Quicking excusing himself before turning around and running back into his home, it was a good thing he had a vase in case of an occasion like this!

"I'm glad you liked those flowers so much." Phillip called, as his date soon returned. He offered his hand, to which Bump giggled "Ooh, such a gentleman." and obliged, clutching his date's hand tightly. It was then when Phillip's face turned a similar shade of red - but, he desperately tried to keep his cool as they sat down back inside the Limbo.

The embarrassment was mutual - Bump felt woefully underprepared and underdressed. I mean, wearing a Tuxedo to a first date? Phillip was trying really hard, and Bump found that extremely charming. Batterflies were swarming his stomach. To change the topic away from his embarrassment, he said "May I ask, where are we going?"

Luz turned around in her seat to face the two lovebirds. She had a shipper's heart that just loved seeing people in love! "We're going…" She squeaked, excitedly holding her fists to her cheeks. "To the Pits!"

"The Pits?!" Bump repeated, incredulously. "I…can't afford that."

Located at the top of a resort known as 'Humer,' The Pits was an extremely high-class and upscale restaurant. Said resort had everything a playboy could need! Hotels, clubs, and of course- restaurants serving only the best of food.

Humer had been conceived by some Entrepreneurs…which had been excised from their local community and described by just about everyone as 'vultures.' It was carved into one of the Titan's bones - The one directly between Scapulor and Girdleville. Well, more than carved - In fact, they'd hollowed out the entire thing and left nothing but the Calcium exterior.

This, of course, was a terrible idea. The Boiling Isles generally had no care for those who dared harm the Titan, and even beyond that - most architects figured it was a ticking time bomb waiting to collapse. But who cares?! It was fancy and attracted tourists, and that was more than enough to keep them afloat.

"Oh, don't worry." Amity said, giving double thumbs up. "It's alllllllll on me!" With one arm she pulled her phone out of her pocket, and with her other hands she pulled her girlfriend close. Taking a quick selfie for Penstagram, and captioning it 'Date Nite!'

Of course, she'd purposely cropped Phillip out of the picture… but eagle-eyed viewers could notice a small glimpse of him in the background. Most people didn't, but one did… and it was the clue she'd been waiting for.

Soon, they arrived at the Humer resort. Amity clutching Luz's hand, and Bump clutching Phillip's. It was a location unlike any other on the isles, a neon-coated den of sin and indulgence dressed up in fancy clothing. Not like Phillip cared, he was more focused on his date. They ascended the resort in a glass elevator, soon arriving at the restaurant. Amity stepped ahead to meet the front of house - "Hi, Blight - Party of 4?"

The clerk nodded, saying "Right this way." before leading the group to an empty booth. "Your server will be with you soon."

Phillip and Amity sat on one side, and on the other sat Bump and Luz. As they waited for the Waiter to come and take their order, they got to talking. Bump spoke up first. "Alright, please forgive me if this is rude to ask, but I've been curious all night. What happened to your…Arm?"

Phillip held up his hand, making a dismissive swishing motion. "Oh, really - it was nothing. I just had a small…accident during a recent trip."

"Little?!" Luz said, scoffing. "You fought off a Slitherbeast!"

He grimaced slightly, having purposely downplayed it - he was worried Bump would think he was embellishing the tale to impress or otherwise manipulate him.

Amity hopped in, looking up at Phillip. "Oh, c'mon. Don't be so modest! You saved us, we could've gotten hurt really badly if it wasn't for you."

Bump's eyes were wide, "Really?" To which Phillip cautiously nodded. He tried to be confident, he didn't want Lumity to do his talking for him. He began to tell the tale of their trip - how it initially started with a goal to discover the Ice Glyph. But everything quickly went south. He detailed how it was a stalactite of Fool's Blood that injured his hand, and his struggles to get home while delirious from bloodloss.

Although it sounded fantastical, Bump actually believed it. After all, with Amity and Luz? Anything was possible.

Eventually the group's orders were taken. The entire menu was full of food that was more meant to be 'art pieces' than actual food. The portions were small, but at least somewhat tasty. The rest of the evening was equally as jovial - Phillip and Bump hit it off very well. They both felt the all-important sparks - Even if Bump couldn't quite believe he was falling for the former Emperor of the Isles…But he thought Phillip was so kind, smooth, and handsome!

After they paid their bill, they stood up to leave - but when they did, an all-too familiar shrill voice rang through the restaurant.

"My Liege!" Kikimora called, kneeling. "I always knew the tales of you being slain by a mere child were nothing but flights of fantasy."

Amity and Luz stepped forward, desperately trying to stop her from ruining everything they'd worked for in regards to Phillip. "Look, Kikimora! He's entirely left his past behind, unlike SOME people who are still clinging to it!" Luz said, as she confidently wielded her staff.

Phillip put his hand on his cheek, grumbling "Bloody hell, I can't have one nice evening, can I?"

Luz rushed forward, sweeping her staff low - attempting to knock Kiki off her feet, but the imp jumped high into the air and landed on her attacker's shoulders - casting a spell in the air to attempt to capture Phillip.

Phillip dashed out of the way, and the spell was diffused on a wall. "Alright, see how you like THIS one!" She cackled, casting a fireball…Which entirely missed Amity, and landed on a decorative curtain…That was swiftly set ablaze.

Amity tried to ring the fire alarm, but there WAS no fire alarm! So Luz loudly called out "EVERYBODY OUT!"

"It's their lucky day, they don't have to pay." Bump grumbled.

Regardless, Phillip hopped into action as Amity and Luz worked to subdue Kikimora. Corralling the crowd, trying to get them down the now-flooded stairwell.

Even as the restaurant was in flames, Kikimora was defiantly fighting. But Luz ended it quickly - slapping her with a freshly-discovered ice glyph and turning her into a statue, Amity carrying the Imp over her shoulder.

Just after they escaped the burning restaurant - they heard a loud explosion that led to the resort shaking. They couldn't say for sure, but- presumably a frier caught on fire. It led to a domino effect - the pressure of the restaurant collapsing made each successive floor collapse as well.

But Luz managed to alert management, who orchestrated a full-scale evacuation. Within the hour, everyone was safe - as soon as they were, the entire bone had collapsed in on itself.

It was inevitable, really.

Considering the hotness and humidity, Kikimora quickly thawed and as soon as she got a chance she hopped out of Amity's arms and ran off into the woods. She was far from done, though. She would be back, and next time…She'd bring backup. It was pretty clear he didn't remember, but she would MAKE him remember. But that was a bridge they'd cross another day.

"Phillip, may I speak to you for a moment?" Bump asked.

Phillip was annoyedly trying to dust the soot off his suit, he'd work the damned thing once and it already needed a dry cleaning. But he turned to face his date, and let out a little "Hmm?"

Shooting a look at his former pupils that caused them to flee, Bump grabbed ahold of his date's hands. "Despite…How it ended...I had a really nice time tonight. Let's do this again sometime." They looked into each other's eyes, before he just went for it - and placed a smooch right on Phillip's lips.