The town of Static, Louisiana isn't large when compared to Los Angeles, but it's also not the smallest town Vox has ever called home. For fuck's sake, he lived in Montana for three years when he was a kid and the most exciting thing to do there was tip cows. At least Static has a movie theater and a mall. Really, his boyfriend and daughter should be a little more grateful.

"Is there gonna be WiFi," Velvette whines from the backseat. "I can't live without WiFi. Papa says I'm insufferable." Vox shoots a quick glare at Valentino, who lacks the good grace to look guilty. Valentino grins brightly, putting a hand between the seats to give Velvette a high-five.

"Wonderful job, baby girl," he praises. "You said the word correctly." Velvette giggles in her car seat, kicking her little feet back and forth. If it wasn't so cute, he'd smack Valentino upside his big ass head. Instead, Vox tightens his grip on the wheel and glares out the windshield. It's dark out, past everyone's bedtime, and they'll be less bitchy in the morning.

"Will we have WiFi, Dad?"

"Yes, Vel," Vox promises. "I called ahead to make sure everything was set up for us." Velvette lets out a gusty sigh, a weight lifted from her thin shoulders. Why a five year old is so worried about WiFi when she barely knows how to use it, Vox has no idea. He blames Valentino. It's usually his fault.

"Is my bed there?"

"Sure is."

"What about my nightlight?"

"We have your nightlight in the side pocket of your bag, remember? That way you had it in the hotel." Velvette hums, kicking her feet and looking out the window. There's not much to see even in the daylight, a field of grass on either side framed by dense woods. Briarwood Manor is set as far on the edge of town as possible, nearly cut-off from everyone. No press to hound them every time they leave their house, gossip rags speculating on whether Vox and Valentino are still an item.

"Can I have somethin' to drink? I'm firsty."

"Thirsty," Valentino corrects absently. He passes her the little McDonald's cup full of Sprite that has to be watered down and disgusting by now. Velvette doesn't complain, just chugs it down and passes it back. "Are we almost there, Voxxy? You know Vel's gonna have to potty soon."

"Should be just over this hill," Vox answers. The house reveals itself slowly, pitched roofs and dormer windows and magnificent gray stone walls. Vox had designed this place himself over decades, from the wrought iron fence with matching V's on each gate to the placement of flowers in the garden.

"Holy shit."

"Holy cow," Velvette echoes. She's leaning as far forward as her car seat will allow, eyes bugging out of her head in awe. Vox won't lie, seeing his two favorite people oohing and awing over his creation really gives his ego a boost.

"Vox, this is nicer than all of our other houses combined!"

"I know," Vox nods. "Wait till you see the inside." He parks the car in front of the house, the first out of the car. Valentino gets their daughter as Vox unlocks and opens the front door, holding it open for the little whirlwind to run inside. "Do ya like it, Vel?"

"I love it," she crows, bouncing excitedly. "Can I go 'splorin'?"

"You can go exploring in the morning after breakfast," Valentino promises. He scoops her up and tosses her in the air in one smooth movement, Velvette letting out a gleeful laugh. "Ready to see your room, Princesa?"

"Yeah!" She pats Vox on the head as they pass him, Vox letting out a soft chuckle. "C'mon, Dad!"

"I'm gonna get our bags out of the car and then I'll be up there," Vox assures her. Valentino tosses her again before she can whine, cutting the impending tantrum off at the pass. Vox'll hand it to him, he's damn good with kids. Vox watches them for a moment before turning on his heel and marching back out to the rental. It's a pick-up, able to handle the unpaved road that leads to Briarwood without too much jostling.

Their bags are piled into the backseat and Vox only grumbles a little under the weight of Valentino's duffels. Did the man pack bricks? And why the fuck is Velvette's backpack so fucking heavy? Curious, Vox unzips it and lets out an exaggerated groan when he finds at least a bucket's worth of her rock collection and a half-eaten honeybun.

"She's as ridiculous as her fucking father," Vox grumbles. He tosses the honeybun into the trash once he's back inside because he knows his daughter, she'd eat the damn thing even if it's coated in lint and dust. He's seen her try to eat a piece of popcorn on the movie theater floor. The child has no self-preservation.

He's still grumbling as he makes it to the second floor, weighed down by far too many rocks and a makeup collection that never should have made it past airport security.

"Need a hand?"

"Oh, what, you're actually volunteering to carry your own bags?" Vox turns, fully expecting to find his boyfriend. What he gets instead is a fur-covered thing with glowing pink eyes and the sexiest smile Vox has ever seen. He and the thing stare at each other in silence for a moment, Vox blinking slowly.

"You gonna run away?" Vox drops the bags and sprints for Velvette's room, a cackling laugh following him. Valentino looks up in surprise when Vox slams the door shut behind him, leaning back against the wood and willing his heart back down into his chest.

"There's…. There's…. Ah, God, I gotta start working out again." Vox bends with his hands on his knees, ignoring the annoyed look Valentino's shooting him. "Can I speak with you in the hallway, Tino?"

"No," Valentino answers smartly. "I'm reading Velvette her bedtime story." He turns his eyes back to the book they both have memorized, Velvette snuggled under her covers with her hair released from its braid. Vox doesn't want to freak their daughter out, but he really needs to confirm that he's not going crazy.

"It won't take long. I just want to show you something."

"Can it wait until Gretel bakes the witch? That's my favorite part." Vox widens his eyes and nods at the door, jaw set stubbornly. Valentino groans and drops the book onto the nightstand. He presses a kiss to Velvette's head, making sure her comforter is under her chin. "I'll be right back."

"We won't be long, Vel, promise." With how Velvette's eyelids are drooping, she'll be sound asleep the second the door's shut. Of course, that won't stop Valentino from standing watch for five minutes to make sure she isn't faking. Velvette's been known to fake them out and then sneak into the kitchen for snacks. Little shit.

"This had better be good." Vox waits until the door is shut behind them before letting his breath quicken again in a panic. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"There's someone in the house."

"What?"

"There's someone in the—"

"I fuckin' heard you the first time, dumbass. Stay with Velvette and I'll go check it out." He shoulders past Vox, unholstering the pistol he always carries. It's a garish shade of pink with zebra stripes along the grip, his name spelled on the barrel in fucking rhinestones. It was his number one pride and joy before Velvette was born.

Vox stands guard outside Velvette's room, armed with her bag of rocks. He's got the bag held up over his shoulder, ready to swing it if the intruder so much as breathes in his direction. He's so tightly wound that he nearly takes Valentino's head off when he comes back upstairs.

"Fucking shit," Valentino curses, ducking just in time.

"Oh shit," Vox gasps. He drops the bag and cups Valentino's cheeks in his hands, looking him over for any signs of a fight. His pistol had been holstered and there had been no sounds of a scuffle, but what if Valentino had gotten hurt some other way? "Did you find him?"

"No." Valentino bats his hands away with a scowl. "There's no one in the house but us, amorcito."

"But I saw someone—"

"You're exhausted. It's been a long two days full of traveling with an impatient five year old. You probably just saw your own shadow."

"My shadow doesn't talk." Vox pulls his phone out of his pocket, pulling up the security app and swiping through the feeds. "This is ridiculous, I saw him." Valentino leans over his shoulder to watch as Vox rewinds the feed in the hall to ten minutes ago. There's Vox lugging their bags, there he is pausing and then running, but there's no intruder in frame with him. "What the fuck? How is that possible?"

"Maybe someone hacked it?"

"It's unhackable."

"Yeah, and the Titanic was unsinkable, but you remember how that turned out." Vox scowls down at his screen, shaking his head.

"I designed Angelic Security myself, it's my baby, I'd know if it could be hacked or not." He pulls up the settings, swiping through quickly to find any hint that someone had fucked with the coding. There's nothing, only Vox's signatures and no one else's. "What the fuck?"

"Go to bed, Voxxy. I'm gonna check on Vel and then I'll be in there to keep you safe from all the big bad ghosties." Vox jumps when Valentino gives his ass a playful slap, glaring at him over his shoulder.

"I'm not in the mood."

"Suck it up, buttercup. We're christening the new house."


Velvette wakes in the wee hours, vision blurry and hair mussed. She's not sure why she's awake or where she is, feels tears burning and ready to fall, but then long fingers card through her hair and she relaxes beneath them. There's a faint humming, high and sweet, that has her eyes closing again.

"It's alright, sweet girl, I'll watch over ya." She blinks her eyes open and finds a man leaning over her, covered in white fur and pink stripes. He smiles down at her, all warmth and sunshine. She finds herself smiling back at him, nuzzling against the soft fur along his palm.

"Are you my guardian angel?"

"Somethin' like that." Velvette closes her eyes again and the humming follows her down into sleep.

Have my kiddo and I been watching too many ghost shows on the travel channel? Yeah. Are we gonna stop watching shitty ghost shows? Absolutely not. Have a thing.