Chapter Text
Bendy had suggested going out for a night on the town to let off some steam, and to show the Vikings around. It had taken a lot of organising, but, with help from the girls, they finally got it sorted. Mugman, along with Cuphead, Bendy, Felix, Soup, Noodle, and Bean were either ready, or in the process of getting ready. Boris and Wiston couldn't have been more uninterested, so they were staying behind with Granny and the doctors, and Xedo as well. He had claimed he wanted to work on the map- or, one of the maps. The Warners were forced to stay, which was probably a good call.
The girls were coming too. Red had gotten dolled up and called Alice, Cala and Holly for backup in helping Soup with a dress. They turned up in their own garbs and rushed upstairs in heels, somehow.
Bendy and Boris had helped Bean pick out an outfit. He’d gone for a white dress shirt with short sleeves and a pair of fancy black braces and slacks. They finally got him out of his boots and into a pair of dress shoes as well.
Noodle had found a black off-the-shoulder kinda dress with a flared out skirt, but had kept everything else to her usual. They were unsuccessful in getting her into any kind of shoes, but oh well.
After changing into their own outfits, Mugman and the rest of the guys, plus Noodle, had stood downstairs and begun waiting for the rest. And were still waiting. Cup kept sighing every minute or so.
"You sure we locked our room?" Mugs quietly asked him. He was concerned they'd forgotten, and Lil' Monster would escape and wreak havoc on the house. Holly did leave Snowball to babysit him though. He could count on her if all else failed.
"Yes, I am sure," his brother answered exasperatedly, leaning his head back to glare at the ceiling in boredom.
Mugs went to tug at his scarf, only to find it wasn't there. Oh right, yeah, he'd taken it off. He wasn't wearing it out tonight.
Bendy tapped his tail rhythmically against the wall on the other side of the hallway, watching the stairs. And waiting.
And waiting.
Mugs let out a sigh of his own.
"Waant some tablet?" Noodle offered and held up some of the treat from next to him. It was just a bar of sugar. But it was a tasty bar of sugar. Maybe a bit too sweet for him, but still good.
"Sure. Thanks." He smiled and broke off a chunk. Out of habit he sniffed at it first, before nibbling it a little.
Cup was looking at him judgementally. He scoffed. "You seriously still cussin' do that?"
He shrugged and muttered his next words, now feeling embarrassed. "I guess... I dunno, tastes better that way."
"Yun's jost da better wiy tae eit it, min." Noods lectured. She squinted her eyes and gestured with her hands in a way that resembled a chef, sort of. "Du gets da foo experience yun wiy."
Mugs stared at her. "You do it too?"
"Of coorse I do." She tapped the side of her nose. "Ivirywan else is missin' oot."
He grinned, and turned a smug look on his brother. "See? I'm not the only one."
Cup crossed his arms and lolled his head away from them. "Yeah well you're both weirdos."
He chortled. "C'mon, bro, you love candy,” he tempted, and stuck more of the tablet in his face.
Cup growled and shoved both him and the candy away. "Get that hellish sugar stardust away from me,” he snapped. Multiple of them snickered. He was still salty from the prank then.
There was movement from up above, and then the girls started stepping carefully down the stairs.
"Finally," Bean exclaimed.
"I'd lik tae see dee try get into dis monstrosity," Soup snipped. She had a gold-coloured flapper dress on with beaded necklaces layered and a feather clip on her head. She also had long white gloves and a small pair of heels.
Bean backed off with a head-shake. "I'm good."
Cup turned to Alice and Red. "We ready ta go now?"
The angel adjusted the clutch on her arm. "Yes, I think so. Our lifts are waiting outside."
Mugs raised a brow. "Where we goin'?"
"A neat little club some blocks down,” Bendy answered as he headed for the door, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Me and Cup found it a while ago and kept it in mind."
Cup followed him out with a confused frown. "Uhh, what club?" He asked the demon. Mugs couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. Either way, it was funny.
"Have a good night!" Granny waved from behind them.
They filed out the house, into the cabs, and were driven off to their destination.
Soup had been watching for most of the night. And from what she’d seen, she had reached the opinion that their way of dancing was weird. There was a lot of stepping and hopping on the spot, and swinging and looping, and there were strictly male moves and female moves. It was confusing.
And their clothes were horrendous. She thought clothes tags were bad before, but this dress reached new levels of itchy. Noods and Bean got to wear non-itchy things, lucky buggers.
The three of them were sat at a round table next to a wall, looking out at the dance floor. Bendy and Alice were out there yet again, racing around. They were bonkers.
Soup frowned down at her drink.
There were rules here. People under an certain age couldn't drink any alcohol. She was allowed, but Bean wasn’t, and Noods wouldn’t. They had to get something called 'mocktails'. Soup got one too out of sympathy. She regretted it.
They were bad. She had already pushed hers over to her sister.
Although, they came with the best thing she'd ever seen in her entire life: little things that Cuphead explained were cocktail umbrellas. She’d already stolen some of 'em.
There was a sound of disgust from Bean. "Yun is mingin'," he decided and shook his head with a shrivelled up expression, finally giving up on his drink. He pushed his glass over to Noods.
She accepted it and took a sip. "Dey’re no yun bad."
“Du's got super taastebuds. Du canna talk,” Soup pointed out. She cackled in response.
"Hey." She noticed Bendy approaching her from her right. Or, left.
“Right,” Fren reminded.
Right.
She focused back on him.
“Fancy giving swing a go?" He offered, holding out his hand.
She eyed him sceptically, before she stood up. "Aaright. Du’s on,” she challenged and gripped his hand in a more arm-wrestle way. He laughed.
As they stepped away, Holly swooped in, and grabbed Noods, pulling her out her seat. “C'mon, you can't sit there all night! Come dance!"
Noods rolled her eyes. “Well, if I have to,” she obliged with mock reluctance, grinning. Alice drifted over and took Bean away too, though he went along with her less enthusiastically.
Bendy took some time to show Soup the basics. There were a lot of steps, which she was used to, but she wasn't used to the amount of arm and hip movements, and all the opposing moves between the two in each pair, and the spinning. Why did she have to spin the whole Thor forsaken time??
And, Bendy was going easy on her. He was holding back. It was annoying, so, she made sure to keep up with him out of spite, no matter how many times she twisted her bloody ankles. She was gonna have so much spaegie tomorrow.
She caught glimpses of her siblings as they went. Bean was avoiding stepping on Alice's feet like his life depended on it. At least he knew that much about this type of dancing, and just general manners. And Noodle and Holly whizzed by a couple times. They were just spinning, really. They were having a good time though. Mugman and Cala had also joined them on the floor at some point.
The pairs switched up a couple times, and Soup ultimately ended up dancing with Felix for a song or two, which was just mortifying. She bolted back to the tables after that. A terrifying experience.
Bendy took a sip of his fizz-whizz to quench his thirst. Six dances in a row and he was parched, and ready for a break. Most of them were.
The night had progressed, to the point that their tables were now covered in empty glasses. Soup and Noods were the only ones out on the dance floor now. They were holding hands and whirling around in a circle worryingly fast.
Cup was stood next to him, leaning against the wall. He suddenly huffed a snort, and glanced towards Bendy. “Your little feet not able to keep up?"
"Watch it, bubblebrain,” he warned flatly, now talking into his glass. "I might just ruin your night."
The mook shook his hands dramatically and pulled a face. "Oooh, how terrifyin'. I'm quiverin' in my shoes."
"Du canna say onythin’." Bean's voice appeared from the other side of the table.
Bendy jumped and almost spilled his drink everywhere. He’d forgotten the kid was there - he hadn’t heard him speak for minutes.
Cup startled too, palming his chest with an exhale. "Holy cuss, man, don't cussin’ do that. You gotta make yourself known.”
The kid only ‘hmph’ed amusedly from his Viking table, just casually fiddling with a cocktail umbrella. "Du looks lik a Mary,” he commented.
It took the other two a second for his words to register, that that was his way of saying someone looked like a girl. Then Bendy burst out laughing.
"I thought we were past that stardust," Cuphead replied through gritted teeth.
"Never." The other dish grinned.
“Hey, you look good in a dress, man. You should embrace it,” Bendy told his best buddy with light back-handed back. He huffed air out his nose, and then stuck it up in the air slightly.
“Maybe I will. I look better than you, anyway,” he put forward. Oh, that was totally a challenge Bendy was going to rise to someday. If he lost another drinking bet.
There was a thud that pulled their attention to Soup and Noodle. They were down on the ground now, splitting their sides.
Soup got up and held a hand to her bowl. She looked like she was about to tip over from dizziness. She did manage to stumble over to them, falling down into a seat. Bendy’s group chuckled lightly.
"Du's no hecklin’ me poor brother, is du?" She interrogated, whilst taking a casual sip of someone’s mocktail, her face twisting with regret.
Cup scoffed. "No, he's hecklin’ us."
She broke into cackles, and tapped an amused finger at her little bro. “Good. Du’ll need yun fir chief wan day."
"Chief?" Bendy quirked an eyebrow.
"Yep,” she sighed, curling an arm around her glass, and tapping the table idly. "Usually da aaldest is next in line fir chiefdom, but Bean's maere keen on it dan I am."
"Oh yeah?" He hummed with a smile, and glanced to the kid. Was that a hint of bashfulness?
"Yun's no set in staen yet," Bean brushed it off. "I'm too lazy."
Cup tsked. "A village run by him sounds like a nightmare." He commented, and got a toothpick shot at him by Soup, bouncing off his arm. He grumbled lowly at the attack.
Bendy’s fangs gleamed with entertainment, before he looked at the dance floor again. It was just Noods now. She was tearing it up out there. They weren’t dance moves Bendy had ever seen before, but, dancing was subjective. At least she was having a good time.
Cup's eye-roll was audible. "So much for cussin' blendin' in."
“Bah, to hell with blending in,” Bendy declared, raising his glass. Bean boomed one of his ‘WEY-HEEYYY’s in agreement, which Soup chorused.
After another moment, Bean hopped out his seat and went to join the crowd, and started doing this thing called 'throwing it back', which was genuinely the most horrifying thing Bendy had ever witnessed. And he'd visited Hell. Multiple. Times.
Soup and Noods laughed, while the people around the two on the floor shuffled away. Okay, maybe some blending in wasn’t that bad.
Eventually Cup stomped over and grabbed the two by the backs of their shirts and brought them back to their tables. He tossed them down in their chairs and poked a finger at them. "You're both chair-bound for the rest of the damn night."
Bean gave a finger-gun in turn. "Whitever du says, Cup-heed."
Cup balled his fists and growled again. Bendy and the rest snickered.
Alice twirled her straw around her glass, staring in a daze, in the direction of the others’ tables.
She was lost in thought. The girls were talking about something, but she couldn’t hear them.
Tonight had been great so far. Magical, even. Everyone was having fun… Well, mostly. Cup seemed a little angry over there.
The Vikings were really coming out of their shells now. They were all laughs and giggles.
And Bendy… Although she wasn’t totally sure, and never was… he seemed happy. He’d been smiling as they danced. They had danced a lot. It had been great.
So why did she feel such a looming dread? Like… something was going to go horribly wrong. Like she was going to ruin a perfect night. Again.
She sighed lightly, and rested her hand on her cheek.
"Alright, I'll bite,” Red suddenly said, and swivelled around to face her. "What's got your feathers in a twist?"
Her eyes flitted up to the woman. "Huh?" Was all she replied with. She hadn’t been totally listening, as rude as that was.
"You're thinking up quite the storm there, Al,” Hol piped up, propping her folded arms up on the table. She was watching her. Actually, everyone was.
Alice switched between them with furrowed brows. How could they read her so well?? She was the angel here.
Cala leaned towards her with a gentle look on her face. "What's on your mind?"
She bit her lip slightly, and sunk her shoulders in defeat. "Just... Bendy, a-and how our last night out didn't end so well,” she murmured. She'd really hurt him.
"Well, I don't think he's going to ask you out again.” Holly shook her head with surety. "He knows where you're at with all that."
"But I don't know where I'm at with all that,” she admitted and gestured helplessly. It was all a huge mess.
"Let us help you then. We're all very experienced in the field of schmoos," Red said as she examined her manicure.
"How?" Alice inquired.
"So.” Holly took a fist to her mouth and cleared her throat, before she settled her focus back on Alice. "Where did you two last leave off?"
Alice lowered her eyes to her glass. She thought back over the past few months.
"... We've had a couple of conversations about us since,” she recalled.
“… I think we just settled on the fact that we both want to... but, um, can't be together,” she concluded, feeling her shoulders sink further.
Red pursed her lips. "Just because you can't put a label on it doesn't mean you can't have your romance,” she expressed by waving her hand vaguely.
Alice batted her eyes. "... T-That's not how it is."
She turned to her with a critical eye. "Isn't it?"
Alice went quiet. Was it? She was scared of a label? Well, yes, but that wasn't all. It was risky. Selfish.
"... It's dangerous," she finally uttered.
Cala slid a hand over hers. She met the mermaid’s round eyes.
“Danger shouldn't stop you, Alice. I think you of all people should know that by now. What's a little peril got against you?" She smiled.
The angel just stared with her mouth agape.
"Me and Mugs shouldn't be together," she continued. "I'm a gorgon, and we both have a... certain background. We're in a precarious situation. We shouldn't be together, we can't be together. Anyone finding out would be awful... "
She gulped down her anxiety, and focused back on her with determination. She squeezed her hand. "That hasn't stopped us. It comes with hardships, but, it's worth it,” Cala told her. She radiated adoration.
"She's right, you know. Hanging around Bendy could be the least of your worries,” Holly noted. She had a humorous expression.
Red circled the rim of her glass with a finger, her chin propped up by her other hand. "Society is stardust,” she snipped. Her emotions swirled with irritation and disappointment, and a little courage. "It also prevents us women from being anything other than a nurse. Don't listen to anybody else, girl. Do what you want."
Alice felt her throat close up. She palmed the angel pendant around her neck, the one Bendy had made for her.
“I-I know it's horrible, but... I'm scared,” she practically whispered.
Holly tilted her head and gazed at her. "It's not horrible. It's normal. Stars, it'd be weird if you weren't scared."
"And people in regular relationships get scared as well," Cala added with a nod.
There was a beat of silence.
"Al, Bendy's probably just as afraid," Holly told her softly.
She lifted her head up at that. Her friend carried on. "Behind that cheeky-tough-guy act of his, he's probably hiding his own fear. In fact I know he is.”
"Maybe... you could comfort each other through it, or something." Cala offered.
That didn't sound bad.
Oh, stars, she was being silly. She gave a laugh and fanned her eyes. She was not crying her makeup off. "Thanks, guys, really. I appreciate it."
Holly grinned and straightened up proudly. "Now, how about for one night you let yourself have some fun?" She held a finger up authoritatively. "And before you argue, I mean actual fun."
She pouted. They knew her too well.
Hol smirked, and jerked a shoulder at her. "Go on - ask him for a dance. You two can swing the night away,” she teased, wrapping her arms around herself and swaying from side to side. They all giggled.
Alice glanced between the three of them. "Thank you. You girls are the best."
Cala squeezed her hand again and let go. Paul wiggled atop her head.
Red bumped hips with the angel. "Go get your man,” she told her.
She thanked them again, and rose out of her chair, heading over to the chaos that was conspiring on the other two tables they had taken up. Oh dear, Cup was even angrier now.
"What's going on here?" She had to smother her amusement.
Mugs had drifted from his strained conversation with Felix, and patted his brother's arm. "Walk it out, buddy."
Cup grated his teeth. "I'll be back," he hissed past his fury, and walked stiffly out the door.
Alice shook her head at their antics. Her eyes landed on Bendy.
"Bendy?"
He turned to look at her. Her nerves bumped up a notch. "What's up?" He was an emotional mystery, as always.
She pushed her gloves further down her fingers. "Fancy another dance?"
He beamed, his little fangs sparkling in the spotlights. He hopped up. "How could I refuse?"
She held out her hand with an eye-roll, and let him lead her out.
They spent the next couple songs flying across the floor. She spun away from him, and he stepped after her. They played a game of cat and mouse through the glittering lights that shone down and the music that pounded under their feet.
As any band does, they switched to slower songs towards the end of the night. Bendy left her side and went to return to the tables.
She held him back, and asked him to stay.
He flushed from his neck to the tips of his horns. It took him a moment to gather himself, and agreed.
The two of them fell into step and swayed together for the rest of that magical night.