Author's Note: Just as a warning, there's a little bit of content in this chapter that could be interpreted as mildly suggestive but nothing explicit actually happens.

"How've you been, Horns?" Devon asked as she turned to face Malleus. "Haven't seen much of you since before exams."

Malleus couldn't stop an amused chuckle from leaving his lips. "Heh… You know, that nickname of yours still amuses me to no end. You truly are fearless, child of man. I'm doing much better now that I've finally had a chance to see you," Malleus replied. "I would have liked to stop by sooner but I didn't want to interfere with your study time." There was really no need to mention that Lilia had all but forbade him from coming to Ramshackle until exams were over and done. Something about not monopolizing too much of Devon's time. He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the thought; it wasn't as though he didn't understand that Devon had her own obligations to see to. He would only have stayed for a little while and-

His thoughts screeched to an abrupt halt as Devon barreled into him, wrapping her arms around his middle and nuzzling her face into his chest. Thanks to the time they'd spent together leading up to and during Halloween Week, he'd grown far more accustomed to Devon's spontaneous displays of physical affection, but they still made his heart race and his cheeks flush like nothing in his life had before. He hesitated for only a moment (there was no royal protocol to fall back on for these situations, after all) before pulling her closer with one hand and gently stroking her hair with the other.

"Is everything alright, child of man?" he asked.

"Not… Not exactly," Devon replied, her voice muffled slightly from pressing herself against his chest. She breathed in his scent, like a thunderstorm captured in a bottle, and the stress that had been building up since the confrontation with Azul practically evaporated. "It's been a rough few days. I'm really, really happy to see you."

"Does your current state of upset have anything to do with Ramshackle?" Malleus asked, trying to ignore the fluttering in his stomach at her words so he could focus on figuring out what was wrong. He wasn't about let his favorite human-quite possibly his favorite person, honestly-walk away from him without feeling better. "I've noticed that it's gotten much rowdier around here the past couple days. Are there more students living here now besides you and your monster companion?"

Devon sighed before finally looking up at him. "It's kind of a long story but…"

She studied Malleus' expression carefully as she told about what had transpired during exams, but his face betrayed no emotion whatsoever, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. It didn't seem like he was judging her, which she was grateful for, but she wish she could get some kind of read of what was going through his head.

Malleus finally spoke up once Devon finished speaking. "A deal with Ashengrotto, hmm?"

"Yeah," Devon replied. "I know it probably wasn't my smartest move but it was the only way I could think of to free my friends and get the headmaster off my back."

"I see. And if you are unable to work out a solution by sunset tomorrow, your dorm will be forfeit to Ashengrotto and will become a hub for even more noisy crowds." He glanced down at Devon to see that her cheeks were puffed up a frustrated pout and he couldn't help but smirk in amusement. "The look on your face tells me you aren't happy with that statement. Do you not appreciate me speaking as though you will lose?"

"Not especially, Horns, no," Devon huffed before turning her head to glare at nothing in particular despite refusing to drop her arms from around Malleus. "It might be hard to believe, but I don't like facing the possibility that I might end up losing the only home I have in this world in less than 24 hours."

"Now that you mention it, where have you been staying if the Leech brothers evicted you from Ramshackle?" Malleus asked.

"Savanaclaw," Devon replied. "Leona was nice enough to let us stay until the three days are up. Well…maybe "let us stay" isn't the best way to phrase it since I had to kick the crap outta three of his dormmates, but hey, at least he didn't shoot us down outright."

Malleus unconsciously tightened his grip on Devon, his eyes narrowing and a feeling of possessiveness washing over him at the mention of Devon staying with Leona. It was made quite clear during Halloween Week that Leona was growing fond of Devon, but Malleus never thought he'd open up his dorm to her. An unfamiliar and unpleasant feeling began to blossom in his chest at the thought of Leona becoming a more important part of Devon's life…potentially more important than him. "I see…," he said, fighting to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "And how are you finding it there?" He recalled their conversation the night they met. "To my knowledge, you and Kingscholar aren't on the best terms."

"Well, we weren't at first but I think he's actually startin' to grow on me a little bit," Devon replied, oblivious to the way Malleus bristled even more at her words. "He's actually pretty cool once you get past that big show he makes about not caring about anything. I've really liked getting to hang out with him these past couple days. I mean, we'd kinda hung out before when I'd invade Savanaclaw or he'd hide out at Ramshackle but now… We had a really good talk last night and I'm not really sure how to explain it but I feel like something has," She gestured vaguely as she tried to find the words, "shifted. For me, at least. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't kind of excited about it."

Malleus remained silent, not trusting himself to speak. The unpleasant feeling in his chest grew more intense as he watched Devon's expression become even fonder, the feeling of possessiveness growing in intensity right along with it.

Devon looked up at Ramshackle again, the warm expression on her face dimming. "Hopefully after tomorrow, we'll be able to have those talks at Ramshackle too… And hopefully I'll still be able to hang out with you here, and give Ace and Epel a place to hide out when they made Riddle and Vil angry, and make a ton of food every evening because I never know who's gonna be stoppin' by for dinner and then there's the Wisps-"

Malleus brought the hand that had been stroking Devon's hair under her chin to gently tilt her face up toward him. "You're getting too into your head about this, child of man. It's true that your time is limited, but I've seen first-hand how clever and resourceful you are. If anyone can find a way to stop Ashengrotto, it's you. Even so, it's not going to do you any good to worry yourself sick over this."

"But what if I'm not able to beat him?" Devon mumbled.

"Well… In the extremely unlikely event that you aren't able to keep your end of the deal, you and Grim will always have a place in Diasomnia," Malleus assured her. "I'm confident the dorm leader won't mind having you two there at all."

"Thanks, Horns. I appreciate that," Devon replied, though her expression was still downcast.

Malleus studied Devon for a moment, concerned. It wasn't like her to be so uncertain and it made his heart ache to see her so worried. He looked up at Ramshackle, hoping to find something he could use to take her mind off of her situation, when his eyes alighted on one of Ramshackle's gargoyle statues. "I have to say, this building has some rather impressive gargoyle sculptures. Did you notice?"

"Gar…goyles?" Devon repeated, blinking up at Malleus in confusion. 'Geez Horns, where'd that come from?'

Malleus nodded. "I'd be happy to show you, if you'd like."

"Umm…alright," Devon agreed.

The corners of Malleus' lips quirked upward. "Then if I may…" He promptly scooped her up into his arms, one wrapped around her back and the other tucked underneath her knees. His smile only grew when Devon wound her arms instinctively around his neck, amusement dancing in his green eyes. "Is this alright?"

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Devon asked rhetorically as she felt her face heat up.

"Very much so," Malleus replied bluntly. His smile turned into a smirk as he felt Devon relax against his chest. "And it seems that you are as well."

Devon didn't respond, instead choosing to glance off to one side, but Malleus could see a small smile on her face. Finally, she said, "To answer your question, yes, this is alright."

Malleus let out a pleased hum before he adjusted his grip to cradle Devon closer to his chest, floating gently up into the air and bringing her closer to one of the gargoyles for a better look. "They look like ferocious, imposing monsters at first glance, don't they? But the truth is that gargoyles actually function as a type of drainage spout to keep rainwater from damaging the walls. Despite what their appearance may suggest, they are creatures devoted to protecting their home."

"So you're saying there's a pretty stark contrast between how they look and what they do?" Devon asked as she reached out a hand to gently touch one of the gargoyles. The sculpture grew warm under her hand, likely the result of Regina's energy reacting to a familiar touch, but it was easy to think the gargoyle had a life of its own.

"What I'm saying is that sometimes our eyes only tell us part of the story," Malleus clarified. "It's important to remember that things aren't always what they seem." He closed his eyes as his expression turned forlorn. "For what it's worth, I would rather this beautiful building didn't fall into Ashengrotto's hands. I rather enjoy coming here during my nightly walks because it's free of any loud, rowdy crowds."

"You and me both," Devon replied. "I'm going to do everything I can to ma-"

"Oi," called an irritated voice from below them. The pair looked down to see Leona standing at Ramshackle's front door with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed into a glare as his tail thrashed back and forth in irritation. "How long are you plannin' on leavin' me stuck with your little furball, princess? Last I checked, I wasn't a babysitter."

"Heh. Sorry about that, Leona," Devon apologized sheepishly. "I really didn't mean to stay out so long."

"Whatever. Just get Hornster there let you down so we can get back to the dorm already. I'm missin' my pre-bedtime nap," Leona replied, now focusing his glare on Malleus.

Malleus felt his eye twitch in irritation at Leona's mocking variation of Devon's nickname for him but managed to keep his expression and tone cool as he addressed her, biting back the urge to bring some lightning down on the lion prince. "You know, going along with him whenever he barks orders like that is only going to encourage this petulant behavior."

"Maybe, but I really should get going. I did promise Grim that I wouldn't be gone for very long," Devon replied. "We parted ways around lunchtime sooo…I think it's safe to say I broke that promise."

"Very well. If that's what you want," Malleus conceded as he floated slowly back to the ground, reluctantly setting Devon back on her feet in front of Leona. He reached out to take her hand gently. "Continue fighting to protect your dorm. I sincerely hope that our next conversation will be right here in this spot with Ramshackle safely in your possession once again. Until then, child of man."

With that, he gave her hand a quick squeeze before vanishing, leaving only those familiar twinkling lights in his wake.

"The eyes only tell part of the story, huh?" Devon mused softly as she continued to stare at the spot where Malleus had vanished. Once again, that nagging feeling that she was just one step away from a breakthrough took root in her head…until she felt Leona poke her forehead impatiently.

"Let's go, princess. I'm losin' valuable snooze time because of you," Leona said grumpily. "You can do your mental gymnastics back at the dorm. Maybe then that little monster'll finally pipe down."

"Alright, alright," Devon agreed, holding up her staff to allow the smaller Wisps to meld into it if they chose. She glanced up at Leona as they made their way down the steps and back to the gate leading to Main Street. His sour expression hadn't ebbed in the slightest. 'Is he really that upset about missing some sleep?' "You know, you could've just sent Ruggie after me if your naptime is this important to you."

"Ruggie's busy with another errand," Leona lied. The truth of it was that he'd begun to grow concerned when Devon hadn't returned after an hour had passed. Grim and Jack had filled him in on their failed attempt to swipe the contracts and it wouldn't have surprised him if Azul sent those twin eels after her. He was tempted to send Ruggie to check on her, but the hyena's knowing smirk when he caught on to how restless Leona was getting the longer Devon was gone stopped him. He tried to convince himself that she'd be back soon and what did it even matter if she got herself into trouble because it wasn't like he cared or anything, but eventually he couldn't take it anymore and set out to find her himself.

He certainly didn't expect to find her in the arms of that damn lizard. It was like watching a scene in one of those fairytale movies Cheka forced him to sit through; all it needed was some cheesy song to play in the background. The sight sent his already not-so-great mood plummeting, but what really got to him was how comfortable Devon seemed around Malleus. The guy wouldn't even tell her his real name, for Seven's sake! He knew she was seriously lacking in survival instincts but come on! Not to mention the fact now Malleus' scent was clinging to Devon's skin and clothes. Ugh, it was already giving him a headache.

"Hey," Devon began once they'd reached the bottom of the steps and she'd waved goodbye to Regina, pulling Leona from his brooding, "is everything okay, mi rey?" She gestured to his still-thrashing tail. "You seem kind of…more irritated than usual."

"It's nothing," Leona grumbled as he steered her toward the Hall of Mirrors. "Let's just get back to the dorm."

"Your job for this evening will be to clean Leona's room," Ruggie informed Grim and Devon once she and Leona had returned to Savanaclaw.

"Time for you two to start earnin' your room and board, herbivores," Leona added with a smirk as he settled back on his bed.

"Maaaan… First Azul's workin' me to death at the lounge and now Leona's doin' it here. I can't win," Grim complained.

"I'd start by gatherin' up all these clothes he's got strewn everywhere and put 'em in the laundry basket, then you can clean off the desk," Ruggie instructed, putting his hands behind his head as he nodded toward where everything was supposed to go. "Accessories go in that dresser and the books go on that shelf over there. Once the desk is clear, wipe it down with a dustcloth."

"It's not like Leona's a cub, ya know," Grim muttered under his breath. "I get that he's a prince and all but he oughta be able to pick up after himself, at least."

"You say somethin', furball?" Leona asked, his eyes narrowing into a glare.

Grim jumped and moved to hide behind Devon. "N-No. I didn't say nothin'…"

"Let's just get started, Grim," Devon said. "The sooner we start, the sooner we finish, right?" She walked over to a pile of clothes next to Leona's bed and was about to get to work picking them up when she heard a low growl coming from the lion prince. Before she had time to react, a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, pulling onto the bed next to him as she let out a surprised squeak. "Leona, what the-?!" She was abruptly cut off when Leona began rubbing his cheek against hers, the glare still on his face. She probably would have found it funny if she hadn't been so confused. It took her a moment to figure out what he was doing, but everything clicked into place when she recalled Blizzard doing something similar whenever he felt she'd been away for too long. Now more amused than anything else, she sent side-eyed Leona with a smirk. "Leona…are you scenting me?"

"Don't read too much into this, princess," Leona growled in reply. "I just don't want the scent of that damn lizard stinkin' up my room."

Devon blinked, confused, as Leona continued rubbing his face against hers. "Lizard? Do you mean Horns? Why do you hate him so much anyway?"

"Yeah Leona, why do you hate him so much?" Ruggie asked, looking more than a little amused. "I mean, you've never been buddies with the guy but it seems like it's gotten worse between you lately."

Leona's only response was another growl. Not wanting to upset him any further, Devon opted to (sort of) redirect the line of questioning. "I guess I didn't realize how big a deal scent is to beastmen. I get you not wanting to have to deal with the scent of someone you don't like floating around the room, but why cover it up with your own scent when I'm just gonna take a shower later anyway?"

"This way's faster," Leona replied simply. "And as for why I'm doin' this myself, well," He sent her a smirk, "who better?"

Devon smiled. "Heh. Fair enough."

Grim turned and hopped onto Leona's desk while everyone else was busy talking, wanting to get the cleaning over with so he could get to sleep. "Guess I'll start by clearin' all this stuff off the desk here… Whoa!" His eyes widened as he got a better look at the items strewn about. "He's left some pretty expensive-lookin' jewelry just lyin' around in plain sight! And I think I see his wallet too!" He lowered his voice as he eyed the jewelry covetously. "Surely he won't notice one little bracelet missing with all this stuff around, right?" He smirked and began reaching toward the bracelet. "I think I'll just help myself. I mean, that's what he gets for not lockin' this stuff away-"

Quick as lightning, Ruggie reached out and bonked Grim on the head with his fist. "Don't even think about it," he said in a whisper. "That's the one I'm after-uh, I mean, he'd notice real quick if that one went missing." He heaved an exasperated sigh before turning back toward Leona. "Ya know, this is why I keep tellin' ya not to leave your valuables out in the open, Leona. One of these days, someone's gonna come along and rob ya blind!"

"Ugh… Put a sock in it, Ruggie. What are you, my mom?" Leona grumbled, now apparently satisfied that he'd gotten rid of Malleus' lingering scent on Devon and settling back down, resting his head on her stomach. He caught sight of her quirked eyebrow. "Consider this your way of payin' me back for havin' to come get you myself," he said in answer to her unasked question before refocusing on Ruggie. "Anyway, who cares if my stuff gets stolen? It's not like it's a big deal. If someone's got the guts to steal from me, I say good on 'em."

"And my point is that it is a big deal!" Ruggie argued. "They're called valuables for a reason, ya know, and it's all fun and games until every last one gets taken from you." He lowered his voice to grumble to himself. "This is what drives me nuts about spoiled rich kids like you…"

Devon had been listening with mild amusement as Leona and Ruggie bickered back and forth, but her eyes suddenly widened as the answer to her Azul problem finally came to her. Suddenly it all made sense: the contracts, the vault in the VIP room, Malleus' words about the eyes only telling part of the story, and now Leona and Ruggie's argument about safekeeping valuables. The nagging feeling that had been hovering at the back of her mind since their run-in with Azul and the twins earlier in the day finally dissipated as the final piece of the puzzle clicked into place. "THAT'S IT!" she shouted excitedly, momentarily forgetting that everyone else in the room had far more sensitive hearing than she did.

Grim jumped at the sound of Devon's shout. "Geez, Dev! What's gotten into you?"

"Seriously. You tryin' to make me go deaf or somethin'?" Leona asked as he glared up at her, his ears folded flat against his head.

"Sorry, sorry…," Devon apologized, lowering her voice and gently running her fingers through Leona's hair in an attempt to calm him. She continued once she heard a content rumbling sound coming from the lion beastman's chest. "It's just that something's been bothering me all day about Azul and those contracts but listening to you and Ruggie go back and forth about your stuff was the last push I needed to figure it out."

"Oh yeah? And what's this big revelation you've had, princess?" Leona asked.

"Azul keeps those contract scrolls inside this big vault in the VIP room of Mostro Lounge precisely because they aren't actually invulnerable," Devon explained.

"And how did listening to me and Leona argue help you figure-" Ruggie paused before a smirk spread over his face. "Oh, I think I get ya now."

"Heh…hahahaha!" Leona laughed. "Of course. I get it now. That's one interesting theory you got there."

"Huh? Am I missin' somethin' here?" Grim asked, looking between the three of them.

"Basically what she's getting at is…," Leona began.

"Ooooh, I get it!" Grim exclaimed after Leona finished explaining. "That makes total sense! And now that we know what weak spot to exploit, I say we bust into Octavinelle right now and-"

"Hold up," Ruggie interjected. "Sounds like you've still got a pretty big problem on your hands. Actually, make that two problems."

Grim blinked. "Huh?"

"Are you forgettin' about the Leech brothers? If Devon's read is right, they're pretty much guaranteed to show up to run interference. Frankly, those two are the bigger threat to you guys right now compared to the vault."

"Oh for the love of- So we still can't do anything even though we're so close to victory?!" Grim asked, exasperated.

Devon tapped her chin in thought. "So if we could get those two overgrown sardines outta the way…" A smile began forming on her lips as an idea began to take shape.

"Hey," Leona said, bopping her gently with his tail to get her attention. "I think I know what's goin' through that head of yours, so I just want to make one thing clear: I am not going to help you. No way, no how. So don't even ask. I'm not about to let myself get dragged into someone else's mess, especially when that mess involves the octo-punk."

"Same here," Ruggie agreed. "Don't even ask."

"Hmph! Some friends you two turned out to be!" Grim scoffed.

"Grim…play along with me on this one, okay?" Devon requested. "I think I know how to get 'em to see things our way, but it'll work better with more than one person."

Grim tilted his head. "What are we gonna do?"

Devon smirked. "Just a little something my brothers and I used to do whenever we reeeeaaaally wanted something but our parents told us no. …Y'know, assuming asking Tio Diego didn't work."

The scene opened up to reveal a beautiful romantic evening on a blue lagoon. The only noise aside from the wildlife was the sound of oars hitting the water. Devon glanced down to see Eric and Ariel sitting together in a small boat and she could just barely make out Sebastian the crab hiding out in the reeds as he directed the animals to begin using music to set the mood in a last-ditch attempt to get Eric to kiss Ariel so she would be free of Ursula's contract.

"Ya know, personally I've always thought boat dates were kind of overrated," quipped a familiar voice.

Devon looked to the side as the 'Kiss the Girl' song began to kick into gear to see DJ and Dominic floating next to her. She smiled and rolled her eyes playfully. "Mmhmm, yep, that's why you hate the idea. And not because you've hated boats ever since the Banana Boat incident of '08."

"I've been doing better with them, actually," DJ replied proudly. "Now I can go on the paddle boats at the amusement park all by myself."

Dominic nodded. "It's true. Mateo and I were both there. You could only hear him screeching from anywhere in the park for about three minutes this time. I do have to agree with him on one point, though, and that is that boats on the ocean are absolute nope."

"Mmm, yeah, recent events have soured me on the ocean for the foreseeable future," Devon agreed.

"I'm guessin' that means you're still under contract for Azul?" Dominic asked.

"Dangit Devon, you had one job!" DJ exclaimed, playfully grabbing his sister by the shoulders and shaking her.

Devon laughed before pushing DJ back gently. "Sadly, I haven't actually beaten Azul yet. We actually did try to sneak into the museum…but he sent the twins after us. Oh, and they're mermen. Eels, to be specific."

DJ and Dominic stared at her as if she'd grown a second head. "Are you serious?!" DJ exclaimed.

Devon nodded. "Yep. Moray eel-mers. They both have abs for days too. I still haven't worked out how I feel about that. Needless to say, we didn't stand a chance against 'em underwater, so we tried just taking the contracts out of the vault Azul's keeping them in, but they caught and wiped the floor with us again."

"Hang on, Dev," Dominic interjected. "I'm very interested in hearing more about these eels and their eel abs, but it looks like there's another set of eels doin' someone's dirty work over there." He nodded out toward the lagoon.

Devon and DJ followed Dominic's gaze to Ariel and Eric leaning in to finally kiss and set Ariel free only for the boat they were in to suddenly flip and send them tumbling into the water with a splash. The triplets caught sight of two shapes swimming away in the murky water, surfacing just long enough to look back at the now capsized boat and chuckle to themselves before disappearing into the depths.

"Looks like Flotsam and Jetsam are back on their bullshit," DJ commented as the scene began to fade.

"There's something that always bothered me about this movie," Dominic said. "I get that Ariel not having her voice is supposed to make things harder for her but why can't she just write something to Eric? We knows she can write since she signs her name to Ursula's scroll and there was nothing in that contract that specified how she had to go about getting Eric to kiss her. There are other ways to tell him that she was the one who saved him. Even if she couldn't sing to prove it, she could still have mentioned that comment Grimsby made about Eric swallowing too much sea water as he led him away to prove she was there that day. If the audience could hear it from Ariel's vantage point, she should've heard it too."

"That…is an excellent point," Devon agreed. "We all know some of those classic Disney princes need the help. The prince in Cinderella couldn't even remember the face of the woman he'd been dancing with the entire evening."

"Or consider that more than one woman in the kingdom might actually have the same shoe size," DJ added.

The trio fell silent as a new scene opened up before them. Ursula was now standing before King Triton, the scroll Ariel signed held out in one of her tentacles. As Flotsam and Jetsam restrained a struggling Ariel-now with her tail and voice returned to her-, Ursula told Triton that she'd be willing to release Ariel from their arrangement…if he took her place instead.

"Ya see?! This all could've been avoided if you'd just written Eric a note or something, Ariel," Dominic commented.

DJ shrugged. "Well Ursula ends up shish-kebabed anyway so I guess all's well that ends well. Right, Dev?" He glanced over at Devon when she didn't respond and saw that she was looking at the fading scene with an unreadable expression. "You okay, sis?"

"Hmm?" Devon hummed, blinking as she came back to herself. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about how these dream I've-well, we've been having have seemed like they're linked to reality. My reality, at least."

"It is a little odd that we had that dream about Ariel signing the contract right after you'd just signed one with Azul," Dominic agreed. "I can't help but wonder if it means something."

"What, like Dev's gonna end up skewering Azul with boat?" DJ snarked.

"I think I could be persuaded," Devon remarked dryly. "But before I can worry about that, I want that smug prick to lose everything." She smiled brightly. "Luckily, Leona was kind enough to agree to help me with that."

"Oh yeah? And how'd you manage that?" DJ asked. "From what you've told us, he doesn't really seem like the charitable type."

"Oh, he's not~!" Devon chirped. "I just made him an offer he couldn't refuse." She smirked. "Remember Operation Tone-deaf?"

"Oh no, Dev, you didn't!" Dominic groaned. "I thought you said you were cool with this guy now." He sighed. "What song did you use?"

"There were a few, but the ones that really got him were 'Chandeliers' by Sia and 'Into the Unknown' from Frozen 2," Devon supplied. "I wanted to pick songs I could mostly handle on my own since Grim doesn't really know music from our world. He did a really great job screeching some backing vocals, though."

"Oof," DJ shuddered. "Yeah, I think I'd probably give you anything you wanted too if it meant you'd stop."

The scene around them was nearly completely gone by now, signaling that they were about to wake up. "Guess our time's about up, sibs," DJ announced.

"Good luck today, Dev," Dominic said. "Hopefully next time we're able to talk, you'll be tellin' us all about how you wiped the floor with Azul."

""Hopefully" nothin'," DJ added. "You've got this, sis. That asswipe won't even know what hit him."

Devon smiled fondly at her brothers. "Thanks guys. I really wish I could talk to you outside of these dreams, but I'll take what I can get for now. I promise I'll have good news for you when we see each other again, whether it's in another dream or otherwise." She pulled them into a hug. "Until then, take care. I love you both."

"We love you too," the boys said in unison before a flash of light forced them back to the waking world.

The first thing Devon noticed when she woke up was a slight weight on her stomach. She shrugged it off at first, assuming that Grim had fallen asleep on her as he often did, but then she glanced up and saw the couch that she and Grim had claimed as their own during their stay in Savanaclaw. Grim was currently snoozing away on that couch and as the sleep finally cleared from Devon's brain, she realized that the fact that she could see both the couch and Grim meant that she hadn't fallen asleep there last night and that the weight she was feeling on her stomach wasn't her furry companion.

She looked around and realized that she was in Leona's bed, her back propped against a couple of the pillows so that she was in a half sitting, half laying position. Devon looked down and was met with a familiar mass of brown hair, her fingers tangled in it right near his ears. As she continued to fight her way out of her sleepy haze, she realized she could hear Leona's breathing and that his arms had wound around her waist at some point. She shifted just a bit and heard him grumble something sleepily as he tightened his grip on her just enough to stop her from moving.

'Huh. Guess I must've fallen asleep here at some point,' Devon realized. She thought for a moment trying to recall what happened the previous evening. 'Okay, so Grim and I decided to Operation Tone-deaf into motion. Ruggie peaced out about one song in but Leona thought we'd burn ourselves out after another few minutes and he'd be able to get some sleep, so we decided to up the ante and get even louder and more obnoxious. He finally caved after hours of this which was a good thing since our voices were damn near close to giving out; the only reason they didn't was thanks to Marina's water magic. After that-ooohh, okay. I remember how I got here now.'

Devon was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Leona inhaling deeply though his nose as he began to wake up for the day, his grip on her tightening even further before he froze suddenly as he realized that he wasn't clinging to one of his pillows. 'Heh. Well this oughta be interesting.'

The morning sun hit Leona's eyelids in just such a way that it was impossible to ignore. He grumbled something unintelligible, very irritated at being pulled from what was probably the best sleep he'd had in years. He couldn't remember his pillow ever being this comfortable before and as he pulled it closer to him, he caught its scent. Usually, his bedding just smelled like him but for some reason, this pillow had another familiar scent that he was too sleepy to place at the moment. He inhaled deeply as he tried to clear the fog from his mind, but the scent was already lulling him back to sleep. It was comforting and warm, like finally coming home after being away for a long time. He tightened his grip on the pillow and nuzzled his face into it when he heard an amused huff of laughter from slightly above him and the realization of what-or, more accurately, who-he was cuddling with hit him like a ton of bricks. Of course he recognized that scent; it had been all over his room for the past three days. He froze instantly, his green eyes wide, but thankfully had the wherewithal to force his flustered expression into a neutral one before risking a look up.

Sure enough, Devon was smiling down at him and he absolutely hated the fluttery feeling he got in his stomach at her looking so happy to see him. "Mornin', sunshine."

Leona quirked a brow at her. "Mind tellin' me what you're doin' in my bed, princess? Bold move, considering the way you and your furball assaulted my ears last night."

Devon shrugged. "Hey, I tried to get up and move over to the couch more than once but you just kept growlin' and tightening your grip each time I moved. At one point, I was scared you were gonna crush my pelvis or somethin' so I had no choice but to stay where I was. And hey, our impromptu concert last night wasn't personal. I just want to make sure we have everything we need to take Azul down today. Besides," She gently scratched at his scalp, causing his tail to twitch reflexively in content, "I made it up to you, right?"

"Whatever," Leona said, angling his head slightly so Devon could scratch at a different spot. He studied her face for a moment and was mildly irked that she didn't seem tired at all. "You've got some nerve lookin' so well-rested while I'm over here sleep-deprived because of you."

Devon merely smiled and stuck out her tongue in response and Leona had to fight to keep the corners of his lips from quirking upward.

"Tch. Smartass. Well, I guess today is the final day of our agreement. Just remember that no matter how things go today, I'm kickin' you two out at sundown," Leona reminded her. "So make sure you've got all your stuff packed and ready to go."

Devon nodded. "We will. And hey," She waited until he was looking up at her again to continue, "thank you for letting us stay here. I mean it."

"Tch. It wasn't like I did it out of the goodness of my heart. You beat those three stooges fair and square," Leona replied dismissively. "I'm a pretty underhanded guy, but I'm still a man of my word."

"I get that, but you could have just turned us away from the get-go," Devon pointed out. "You didn't have to share your room with us either, but you did. I was actually kind of relieved when you agreed. The other Savanaclaw guys have been pretty chill with me, especially after I cooked for 'em the other day, but I still feel safest when I'm around you. Ever since your Overblot, you've been in exactly the right place when I've needed help, y'know?"

Leona wanted to argue with her, to tell her that those instances were just coincidental and he just happened to be in the right place at the right time, but he knew Devon was too smart to fall for that.

"My point is that I appreciate you," Devon continued. "Not just for comin' to our rescue, I mean I appreciate you in general." She leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, causing both of their cheeks to heat up. She felt slightly discouraged when Leona's facial expression didn't appear to change, causing her smile to drop a bit, but it quickly returned when she caught sight of his tail twitching happily. "Now let me up so I can get ready."

Leona huffed out a laugh before leaning up and pressing his forehead to Devon's. "Fine. Just remember what else you promised me last night in exchange for my help today."

"In conclusion, we need to hustle our butts over to the Atlantica Memorial Museum," Devon said after she, Jack, and the anemone squad had gathered in the courtyard later that day.

Ace, Deuce, and Jack stared at her dumb shock. After a moment, Jack spoke up. "Are you being serious right now?"

"As a heart attack. Now let's go!" Devon replied, turning in the direction of the Hall of Mirrors.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up there, New York," Ace said, catching her arm before she could go anywhere. "We're gonna need a little more context than "We're going back to the museum". I thought we ruled out heading to the Coral Sea since the Leech brothers would just swoop in a stop us."

"Yeah," Deuce agreed. "That's way too reckless, even for me."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Grim tutted. "You just don't understand the intricacies of this plan Dev's cooked up. Don't worry, I'll go over everyth-" His words dissolved into a coughing fit before he could finish his sentence.

"You okay?" Ace asked once Grim had finished hacking. "You catch a cold or something?"

Grim shook his head, clearing his throat. "Not at all. I just did a whole lot of yowlin' yesterday is all. Ahem! Now then, here's what we've got in mind…"

The boys listened carefully as Devon and Grim went over their plan in detail, their expressions a mix between shocked and impressed. They were once again stunned into silence as Devon and Grim finished their impromptu briefing.

"Dude, you can't be serious!" Ace nearly shouted. "Talk about bold!"

Deuce's baffled expression morphed into a confident smirk as he slammed a fist into his palm. "I always knew you had more guts than most of this school combined, Dev, but it's always nice to have a reminder."

"Do you really think it's going to work out as well as you're hoping it will, though?" Jack asked pragmatically. "It seems like there are a lot of variables to consider."

"It's not like we have any better ideas and we're almost out of time," Deuce pointed out. "We don't even have a full day left now, just until sunset. I think we should take a chance on Devon's plan."

"I guess it's better than sitting around and twiddling our thumbs until sundown," Ace agreed reluctantly.

"I guess you have a point. Stressin' over the what-ifs won't get us anywhere," Jack conceded. He sent Devon a smirk. "I have to say though, Dev-you really are unstoppable once you've made up your mind to do something."

"A full-on determinator, this one," Ace agreed, slinging an arm over Devon's shoulders and pulling her against him so he could nuzzle his cheek against hers. "Sometimes I worry you might be a little too daring, but what's life without a little risk, huh?"

Devon couldn't help but smile at her friends, grateful they were willing to support her. "Well, if we're all in…let's roll out, y'all!"

"Yeah!" Grim cheered. "Let Operation Grand Theft Photo commence!"

Ending Notes: The Lopez triplets, to each other: *undying loyalty, absolute ride or dies, would put themselves in any type of peril to protect each other*

Also the Lopez triplets, to each other: *points at the ugliest thing in the room* That's you.

I keep imagining Devon doing something like melancholiaah's 'Toad Sings' videos on YouTube when she and Grim put Operation Tone-deaf into motion. She just tries to sound as shrill and irritating as she possibly can for as long as she can. Oh man, Leona's poor ears…

As for what Devon promised to do for Leona in exchange for his help (besides what Yuu/MC does in canon) will be elaborated on later.

Thank you all so much for reading! As always, feedback and constructive criticism are welcome. Geekinthepink, out!