Chapter Text
Saturday 24th
Boris sighed, feeling the magic surge fade out, the courage rune below his feet dimming.
"There," Holly said, after deactivating the circle of runes. She looked up at him. "How are you feeling?"
"Good," he answered, and sighed again. "Replenished."
"Good." Holly affirmed, and then got to work on gathering up all her sheets of paper. Boris knelt down to help out.
"Thank you," he said with a smile. She made an 'ack' sounded and waved him off.
"It's no problem. You know I love me a good spell," she remarked with humour. Boris gave a chuckle.
He handed the sheets he had gathered over to her, and watched as she paused. He did too.
"Do you still... have the dark eyes?" She asked.
Boris blinked, and took a moment to think it over, blinking again this time to unmask whatever spell he had on them. And judging by Holly's grave inhale and then exhale, he did still have the eye problem.
"I think I'm still connected to the instrument," he murmured, blinking his eyes back to normal-looking. "I... still dream about it most nights."
"Yeah," Holly agreed quietly. Her expression was dejected, before it turned more focused; determined.
She brought a finger up to her beauty mark, and then tapped it in the air, getting up on her feet. "I can do some research on how to sever the link. Properly, this time."
"Oh, it's alight, Holly, I-I'm okay," he assured her, as he stood up too. He jerked a shoulder. "I'm not in pain or anything. I just get a little hungry sometimes. And... I'm scared severing it will cause another Labyrinth," he expressed.
She gazed at him with worry knit in her brow. "You really think that would happen?"
"I-I don't know - that's the problem," he explained, feeling his ears droop. His hand went up to the whistle hidden behind his bandana. "I think it might need a holder until it can be put to use in the actual machine. Otherwise it's just going to sit in a stagnant pool of magic, and hurt people around it."
Holly's eyebrows knit together further. But, she did seem to agree, nodding a little in acknowledgement.
"... Well, if you ever do have a problem, just let me know," she told him, as she stuffed her papers into her satchel, then gripping the handle strung over her shoulder resolutely. "If anyone knows anything about magic it's this witch," she advocated while thumbing her shirt.
Boris snorted. "What about the demon, the angel, and the multiple dishes who live here?" He challenged in a flat tone.
"Micco magic," she corrected. Boris smiled with mirth.
"Thank you, again," he repeated. "I really appreciate it."
"Anytime," she said with another wave and a smile. Boris returned it. With the garden cleared, the two of them headed back inside, making their way through the backyard, over to the door, and in through the hallway.
There was... a lot of commotion coming from the dining room. Loud, loud voices.
"What's going on there?" Boris asked Holly, motioning up ahead.
"Oh, it's a gathering; a project I'm working on," she said vaguely.
When Boris quirked a more curious brow, she leaned in to whisper. "It's for Alice's birthday."
"Oooh," he caught on with a slow nod.
"Mhm. And, it'd be great if you could pitch in," she said.
"Okay... What do I need to do?" He questioned.
She jerked a shoulder. "Whatever you want to do. Drawings, writing; just a little something, like signing your name," she explained as an example. "Like you would a card."
"Alright," he agreed. Sounded easy enough. Honestly he'd been so wrapped up in his own problems that he'd forgotten about birthdays. Bean's had come out of nowhere, and now Alice's was tomorrow, and Bendy's was only a few days after that. It was a busy month, apparently.
He followed Holly as she dipped into the dining room, and into chaos.
In the room were the Warners, Xedo, Wiston, and the Vikings. While the Vikings were at one end playing with cards, a total mess was at the other. It was like a scrapbook-fest, led by the Warners. Pictures and paper were everywhere, and glue and glitter. Even Red was in on the action, or just trying to organise the chaos. She was probably the only thing keeping this operation on track.
"Get out get out get out," Wakko strained as he shook a bottle of glue up and down, before it all came out in one giant squirt. He froze.
"You didn't just do that," Red said in disappointment. The zany smiled sheepishly in response.
Dot rolled her eyes audibly. "Boys - so messy," she said, kicking her legs back and forth from her spot lied out on top of the table. Snowball was next to her, having touched a sticker, gotten her paw stuck, and then tipped over in panic.
"How has this happened - I barely left you for fifteen minutes!" Holly raved in disbelief, tossing a hand up.
Xedo sighed from his own spot at the table, in the middle of doing some crazy calligraphy. "I wish I could say I'm surprised this all transpired in the span of time you were outside, but no, I'm not."
"Yeah, me neither," Wiston bit out through grit teeth, glaring at the happily humming zany next to him. Yakko was lost in his exaggerated brush strokes, and was painting the fox on the cheek in the process.
Boris' found himself snickering. These guys were always funny.
Dot's eyes flicked from her pink glittery page to someone in the doorway. "Oh, hi Dr. Oddswell!" She waved.
The lizard in the doorway dipped his head. "Hello. Uh... "
Holly cringed. "Sorry... Professor... "
He gave another curt nod in her direction. "You are forgiven. Miss Red," he greeted next, swiftly moving on.
Red took that as her cue to head over to him, taking his weird suitcase bag out his grasp. "How was your visit to your wing?"
"It was adequate," he stated plainly, faffing with a pen stuck to his coat pocket. "There was a mild attack to report during the night. And news of Maxim May," he relayed. "He is now in the process of being submitted for a psychiatric analysis."
Boris glanced to Holly, who had gone quiet.
"-Uh, where should I sign?" He asked her, and picked up a random pen. Her attention returned to him, then the mess of papers on the table.
"Hm... How about around this picture of you and Bendy?" She suggested, bringing it over. Boris blinked in surprise, and ended up laughing a bit. Geez, he hadn't seen that photo in ages. He'd almost forgotten they'd took it.
He adjusted his on grip on his pen, and moved to write on it.
"Before you do that, Boris, might I remind you about your appointment with Dr. Scratchansniff today," Oddswell brought up. "I suspect he's upstairs in the spare office waiting for you."
Boris winced inwardly. Cuss, he'd forgotten about that too. Maybe on purpose.
"Sorry, Hol, I-I'll have to come back to this," he apologised. Holly wafted a hand to assure him it was fine.
Wiston growled, and finally whipped around to the zany next to him. "Yakko I swear to the stars-"
"Language," Xedo routinely chastised. His younger brother slammed his face into the table.
Leaving the chaos behind, Boris excused himself.
He didn't really want to go to his appointment. It was always so... awkward. And he always had to force himself open up about stuff, deep stuff, stuff Boris didn't really want to talk about. It just made him want to run.
And Dr. Scratchansniff was always able to read him - he could tell he was uncomfortable, and then he'd tried to assure Boris that he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to do. But he did have to do it - everyone was counting on him to do it. It was the least he could cussing do after the Labyrinth mess.
The doctor had suggested bringing someone along to make him feel better. Last time Boris had brought Felix, but he was out now. And that had been a whole problem in of itself. Felix had been overly cautious and edgy about what Dr. Scratchansniff was saying, which Boris had figured out was due to him running away the first time. Then suddenly the doctor was the uncomfortable one.
Maybe he should ask someone else to come along.
Bendy?
No, he didn't need Bendy. He didn't need to drag him around the whole time. He needed to loosen his reins on his brother - depend on other people instead of just him.
Maybe he could bring Mugs? He'd been going to Dr. Scratchansniff too, and after their chat the other night, an extra therapy session for the dish wouldn't not be a good idea.
Although maybe that wasn't allowed - clashing patients.
As Boris walked through the hallway, absorbed in his thoughts, he almost crashed into Alice as she left the dining room.
"Alice!" He exclaimed.
"Oh, stars! Sorry, Boris," she apologised with a laugh, palming her chest.
"Ah, i-it's alright," he mumbled and scratched the back of his head.
She observed him unblinkingly. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good," he nodded, tossing a thumb over his shoulder. "Just uh... just came from the dining room."
Her lips pulled back in a grimace. "Do you know if I'm still not allowed in the dining room... ?" She inquired gingerly.
Boris let out a breathy chuckle. "No, I-I think they're still busy, sorry."
"Darn," she deflated, mildly disappointed, but there was still humour in her eyes.
"... I-I have a session with Dr. Scratchansniff starting soon," Boris kind of blurted out, "and I was wondering, would you... maybe want to come with me?" He requested gingerly. He felt like a starfallen baby doing this.
"-Yeah, of course!" She said, quickly brushing whatever she had been on her way to do aside, clasping her hands together. "I'd be honoured to."
"Okay... cool," he said with a relieved nod, and then turned to head up the stairs. Alice trailed after him.
Bendy closed his demonology book, and rubbed his face with his hands. Stars, this was cussing killing him. It had been a while since he'd last sat and studied, and it showed. His brain was frying.
But he still had so much to dooo aaaaaargh. He hadn't even begun looking at the shape shifting chapters. He wanted a break already.
Well, if he was taking a break, he might as well get a coffee refill on the way.
Bendy stood up and swung his legs over his chair, swiping up his empty mug. He tilted it back to coax the last drop to fall onto his tongue as he exited his room.
He stopped in the hallway, and looking to his right. Then his left.
Oh. Boris and Alice were stood at the other end of the corridor in front of the door to the spare office. He blinked at them. They blinked back.
"What are you doing?" Bendy asked curiously.
"I have a therapy session on," Boris told him. "I'm going... with... Alice."
"Oh." Bendy acknowledged. He shrugged slightly. "Sure."
Boris gave a single nod, before stepping into the spare office. Alice wavered, and opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it and turned away briskly, entering after him.
Bendy stayed stood there for a moment, puzzling over what had just happened. He couldn't help but feel a little angry. Had he done something? Why did it feel like Boris was... leaving him out??
He frowned, and looked around.
Cup's door was open. There was a faint scribbling coming from inside.
Bendy decided to go into his room to bother him, setting his mug down on the nearest cabinet, and then dropping himself onto the end of his bed with a sigh.
"Cussin' hello to you too," the dish grumbled from over at the vanity unit, his back turned. He was using it as a desk to write.
Cup jerked his head towards the doorway. "What's goin' on out there?" He quizzed the demon, still without turning.
"Boris, he was just going to a therapy session," Bendy said as he rested his arms on the foot of his bed like the back of a chair.
"Uh-huh," Cup hummed, overly enthusiastic. Cussing mook, he'd heard them. He was just asking to be annoying.
Bendy lifted an eyebrow at his dumb reflection in the mirror. "Where's Mugs?" He jabbed back at him. He'd noticed them avoiding each other at breakfast.
"Off on a run," he replied as he scribbled, his teeth-gritting noticeable in his voice. "You should be out runnin' too y'know. You've been slackin' recently."
Bendy scoffed lightly, glancing off to one side. He sighed again, louder this time.
Cuphead put his pen down and stared him dead in his reflection's eyes. "If you're gonna keep mopin' take it somewhere else will you."
Bendy suppressed a grin at finally getting a visible reaction out of him. He leaned forward, and let his arms hang over the foot of his bed. "You know most people would ask what's wrong, but," he huffed, "I suppose you're not most people."
Cup ran his tongue along his teeth angrily, and drew in a breath through his nose. "What's wrong," he quizzed his reflection with a mocking brow raise.
"Boris," Bendy murmured, and scraped at the wood with his claw. "The way he's acting, it's bugging me."
"How's he actin'," Cup quizzed next, returning to writing stuff down.
"I don't know, distant?" Bendy said with a shoulder jerk, and then flicked a hand out. "He just took Alice to his therapy session instead of me."
Cup let out a burst of air in a laugh. Bendy just caught a 'yeah, okay' in there too.
"Somethin' funny to you?" He questioned flatly.
"Oh, yeah," he shamelessly confirmed as he twisted his torso around, slinging an arm over the back of his chair, "this is priceless," he said and bulged his eyes on the last word, a slappable grin on his mook mug.
Bendy surpressed his irritation in an attempt to look deadpan and just stared at him, waiting for some actual guidance.
Cup groaned and dropped his head in defeat, like showing compassion was the biggest ask of the century.
"... Maybe he's tryna let you outta the chokehold he always has you in," he suggested.
Bendy scoffed again, properly this time. "It's not that bad," he professed with a roll of his eyes.
"Yeah- Whatever. He has attachment issues," the dish stated. He pointed a finger at the ground. "This is good."
"I-I just... don't want him to, like, abandon me," Bendy mumbled, a little embarrassed. And Cup's new expression didn't make him feel any better.
"-W-what the cuss made you think that was goin' on??" He barked, baffled.
"You. You said he's leaving me," he mumbled even further, now glancing between him and the wall.
"And you listened ta me?! No- Bendy I was cussin' jokin'," he claimed like it had been obvious, which it hadn't.
"Well you're real cussing bad at it," the demon snipped. Cup rolled his eyes in exasperation, and gave up on helping, whirling around back to his writing.
Bendy watched him in the mirror, stretching his neck upwards to try and get a better view over his giant shoulders.
"What're you even doing," he probed.
"Stuff," he said.
"Stuff? Liking avoiding your brother?" He prodded the dish further.
"No," he snapped, glowering over his chair. Bendy eyed the blazing dish up and down.
He turned away again, continuing his scribbling. "Plannin' stuff," he muttered, glancing irritatedly at the back of his hand.
"Planning? You don't plan stuff," Bendy accused.
"Yeah, well now I do," he bit out, and then started scratching aggressively at the sight of his IV. Bendy veered back in concern.
"Stars, man, take it easy. You'll scratch your damn skin off," he sneered.
"I'll scratch your damn skin off in a second," he growled in response.
Bendy puffed, holding his palms up. "Well so-ryy," he snarked as he backed off.
He shuffled back and swung his legs over the bed, letting them dangle off the edge. Other than Cuphead's frustrated scribbling, the room went quiet.
Then it stopped. Cup's fingers clenched around his pen.
"Fine," he snarled and shoved his chair out, throwing his pen down. "Let's go on a run."
"What?? I never said anything," Bendy said.
"You need the cussin' trainin'," he basically insulted, swiping up his coat and swinging it over his shoulder. "Let's go."
"-But you'll have a starfallen heart attack," he brought up, moving to get off the bed after realising the guy was serious. He'd seen him grimace at picking up his coat for cuss' sake.
"It'll be a cussin' great way to go," he declared as he strode out the door.
Bendy tutted, and hopped to his feet. He hated this stubborn schmuck sometimes.
Before leaving the room, he scooted over to the vanity unit, trying to sneak a peek at the mook's 'plans'.
"Eyes off!-" Came said mook's voice from out in the hallway.
Bendy threw his head back. "Ugh, you're the cussing worst, man!" How'd he even cussing know?!
Oswald gave a nod to the waitress as she placed down his and Felix's coffees. He'd gone with a plain black coffee, while Felix had ordered a latte, with a foamy pattern dragged through the top. Somehow he wasn't surprised at all that he'd chosen the drink. Oswald wouldn't be surprised if it was also his go-to. It seemed like a vaguely British choice.
He picked up his mug, and took a sip, smacking his lips and hissing afterwards.
“Too hot," he strained past the burn on his mouth. Felix's shoulders shook across from him.
"I was going to warn you," the cat said with amusement on his face and in his tail twitches. Oswald gawked at him in betrayal.
He blew on his scorching brew, before daring another sip, with less pain this time. He set his mug down soon after.
"So," he started, leaning his folded arms on the table. "How's the house?"
"It's okay," Felix answered, after taking his own sip of his own coffee. "It's uhh... it's busy," he said.
Oswald hummed. "I heard you got kicked," he mentioned with a bit of humour in his bluntness. Felix cringed anyway, grimacing.
"Yeah... " He confirmed, itching the back of his head. Oswald watched his friend with a pitying smile.
"What happened?"
"I... yelled," he revealed as he stared into his cup, tapping a claw against it. "-But, i-it wasn't just that," he stammered to clarify. "I... have been holding an unfair grudge against the Cup brothers for a bit now - too long."
Oswald pressed his lips together knowingly. "Because of the Labyrinth?"
"Because... of the Labyrinth," he repeated in a sigh, and then propped his chiselled chin up on his palm.
"Well, you obviously fixed it, considering I picked you up from the house," he noted, picking up his mug to take another sip.
"Yeah, I'm... working on it." He murmured, and plucked the chocolate waver swirl thing that was always served with lattes. He looked to Oswald in a silent question.
"Halfsies?" He proposed. Felix grinned, and snapped the wafer stick in two, handing one half over to him. Oswald took it and bit it. These things were great. Couldn't for the life of him remember what they were called, but he liked them.
"Our show yesterday was great," he said, mainly to poke fun. Felix's face flashed with realisation, before he groaned, palming his forehead.
"Stars, I'm sorry. This week has been... so busy," he admitted with an awkward chuckle.
Oswald gazed at his friend with worry strewn through his brow. "What's going on with you Feels?"
"I don't know... " He murmured, cupping his cup with both hands again with a low demeanour. "... There's a lot going on in the house at the moment. And in my head, I-... I'm trying to fix everything, and-"
He screwed up his eyes, conflicted, and then shook his head. "S-sorry, I don't need to be bothering you with this."
"It's okay, Feels. Really," Oswald assured him, and jerked a shoulder beckoningly. "You know I'm always here if you need to talk."
Felix stared at him for a moment with his dark eyes, and then gave a smile. He reached up to itch the back of his head, tipping his hat in the process.
"... Someone broke into the house the other night," he just casually said. Oswald jerked back and faltered for a second there.
"-Wait, what? Like actually?”
"Yeah," he sort of laughed. "The person stole Snowball. We followed him, and got Snowball back. Turns out it was a kid with the same last name as Holly, and was convinced they were family, when they aren't. Pretty crazy coincidence, right?"
"-Deuh, yeah," Oswald said, still in shock.
"And then Fireball escaped and flew away," he continued retelling, leaning back and patting his fingers against the table. "Wiston's still pretty gutted about that. And then, on the same day, Bendy and the Cup brothers went to the casino, and got into a fight, after getting into a different one four days before that."
"Damn," remarked the rabbit, not really not what else to say. He huffed. "Kids, amiright?"
Felix bulged his eyes and laughed, his mirth fading out as he went to take a sip of his latte.
"Hey, why didn't you call?" He asked the cat, flicking an arm up. "We would've been glad to help out - I've been kinda missing the adventure lately, even after our last one."
"Ah, well, I-I don't know," he admitted, dropping his eyes to his cup. "I-I guess I felt it was a little personal, and partly my responsibility. A-and my fault," he added.
"Nah, you don't give yourself enough credit," Oswald said with a swoop of his arms, leaning back in his chair. "You deal with a lot, Felix. And if there's anything I could do to help I'm not far away."
"Well... Thank you," he said sincerely, and smiled again. Oswald did too. Maybe for a bit too long.
"So." Oswald clapped, and rubbed his hands together. "How 'bout that Victoria sponge you promised me?"
"Oh, right, yes," Felix remembered with a tap to his forehead. He got up from his seat, and stepped away towards the counter. "I'll be right back."
The rabbit watched on as the cat ordered them two slices of cake, and brought them over to their table. He'd also seen a carrot cake up there. If this didn't hit the spot then he knew what would.
"Okay," Felix announced as he returned, setting one plate in front of Oswald, and then the other in front of him, before plonking himself back down. "Here is the notorious Victoria sponge cake."
"Nice," Oswald grinned, as he scoped out his slice. Strawberries, cream and cake? This had to be good.
"Oh, sugar," Felix swore, and moved to get up. "I forgot to get forks."
"Forks? Who said we need forks?" Oswald argued, and picked his slice up, taking a good, messy chomp out of it.
Felix stared at him, and laughed, flabbergasted. Oswald continued acting like there wasn't a problem. He'd been right - this cake was great.
Eventually Felix joined in on his savage ways, though did manage it more delicately than Oswald. Oswald finished his off quickly, probably quicker than he should have, licking his fingers clean afterwards.
Felix paused in his eating, as something about or on Oswald caught his attention. He snorted to hold back snickers.
"What?" He asked, amusement tugging at his lip.
"You've got buttercream on your nose," the cat disclosed.
"What? Where??" Oswald furthered, and started wiping at his muzzle.
"On your nose," he helpfully reiterated. Oswald tried to follow where he was looking, to no avail.
"N-no, you missed it," the cat cackled. He wasn't even trying anymore.
Eventually, and after an embarrassing amount of time, he managed to catch the blob of buttercream, and wipe the area clean.
"There, finally cussing got it," he grumbled, wiping his hands off. Felix was splitting his sides across from him. It was nice to see - the cat didn't laugh enough.
They spent the rest of their cafe lunch in a comfortable silence, as their mirth died down, and they got back to work on finishing their drinks. Felix had fallen behind both in terms of cake and coffee. He hadn't even eaten his half of the wafer stick. When Oswald brought it up, Felix handed it over to him. Oswald didn't argue. Those things were fun to nosh on.
Wafer, cake and coffees devoured, they paid up at the counter, and then left. Turns out they had spent a lot longer in there than Oswald had intended. He needed to get back to the circus to help with dinner.
He explained this to Felix, and asked if he wanted to come along. He agreed, so off they went, walking through town to the circus.
Felix carried on catching him up on the events of the past week. He'd mentioned a car chase, the one that headlined in the papers a few days ago, and a fire in the casino, then the birthday party, and then the break-in, and the argument Felix got into.
He'd also brushed lightly on a new issue that had come up - that someone was going to fight them for the parts. Felix had explained as delicately as possible to keep discretion for the sake of everyone involved, but Oswald assured him that it was okay and that he understood. Apparently some big bozo was going to try grab the parts at the last second, so they were going to have to fend him off. And, in Felix's words, they needed all the help they could get. And Oswald assured him they were up to the task.
It wasn't long before they made it to the circus. They'd gotten very serious, and lost themselves in the conversation on the way there. But now, approaching the house, they wiped their seriousness away, in anticipation of a bombardment of bunny kids.
"You ready?" Oswald smirked as he held the door handle.
"Quite ready," Felix assured with a smirk to match. And with that, Oswald opened the door.
They actually got in and the door closed before any of them noticed them. A good chunk of them were in the living room, playing. Tiny ears flicked at the sound of them entering.
Remy was the first to gasp. "It's Felix! And Papa!"
Oswald was glad to know he was second in order of importance. Their own father.
A crowd quickly formed and rushed over to the cat, jumping at his legs and tugging at his pants, and eventually pulling him to the ground. The cat took it gracefully, bless him.
"Hey- Watch it, you guys," Oswald chastised, like he usually had to do. "What have I told you about ganging up on visitors??"
"Oh, i-it's quite alright, Ozzy," Felix assured him through his giggles. He was always nice about it. The cat was good to them.
"Why weren't you at our show?" Carrie asked with big, sad eyes, holding his knee. She was then overtaken by an enthusiastic Marco, who was hopping up and down.
"You should've seen me! I was all like whoooshhhh, and then boom! A-and then-"
"Nobody cawes, dingus," Logan interrupted. Oswald gave him a disapproving look for that.
Felix did his best to smile along. "Sounds impressive," he remarked after a chuckle, and then got his sleeve tugged by Bridget.
"Can you play with us??" She pleaded up at him with big eyes. Several others joined in.
"Oh, oh! Felix! You can be the adventurer!" Gerald said enthusiastically.
The cat looked to Oswald. He gave a helpless scoff and an apologetic look for getting him wrapped up in playtime, again. The cat took it in his stride, nonetheless, and moved to get up.
"Alright, where do I need to be?" He asked the crowd of buzzing bunnies, who dragged him over to a little cardboard setup they had going on, scribbled on to look like a castle tower. They enthusiastically directed Felix behind the cardboard, and plonked him down on the ground.
"Beware, the mighty red dragon!" Summer, one of the fairies, warned, pointing her wand to a mound of red blanket and taped on spikes. The bunnies under the blanket roared and bucked.
Karalee, another fairy, gasped. "Oh no, it's guarding the mighty adventurer Felix!"
There was a pause, where all expectant eyes went to Felix.
"-Oh, uhh... O-oh dear, I am trapped - shackled, by the crimson beast!" He dramatically acted, putting the back of his hand to his forehead. Oswald snickered from over where he stood. He loved the cat's commitment.
"Don't worry, Adventurer Felix, we are here to save you!" Benny declared as he lunged forward with a wooden sword, though had to take a moment to push the knight's helmet up again after it fell down over its eyes.
The bunnies under the dragon blanket growled. "You will never get him! Raahhh!"
Malin lunged forward next. "We'll see about that, dragon! Knights, fairies - attack!"
A child-friendly onslaught occurred - both teams launched an assault on the blanket dragon, jabbing and poking with their fairy wands and knightly blades. There was a brief argument on whether or not the dragon could breath fire and wipe them all out, but Oswald stepped in to help and keep things fair. Eventually though, the dragon was defeated.
The dragon bunnies put on a dramatic death, before falling over, and... then... squeezing a ketchup bottle from their dragon stomach.
"Bloood, blooood! And then... death," they said.
Stars. Where the cuss had they gotten that from. And should Oswald be worried.
Neither he or Felix knew what to say to that. They didn't say anything, only blinking. It wasn't until Malin continued the play that they snapped back to reality.
"You are free now, adventurer!" Malin cheered, while Susie and Hanson pulled the cardboard tower back to let Felix go.
"O-oh, thank you, bunny knights and fairies," he continued acting as he stood up, drifting over to Oswald, "I am forever in your debt, brave ones."
Oswald chuckled, and stepped forward, clapping. "Alright, you guys, time to clean up before that ketchup stains."
They all whined and dropped their weapons, some stomping angrily.
"Aww, but we were going to make a sequel!" Nicky proclaimed, and pushed her glasses further up her nose. "Seventy two percent of franchises release a sequel within two years of creation."
"Well then, you have a whole two years to do this," Oswald said and patted her ears down. "Felix didn't come here to play today."
A couple more disappointed expressions went around, but Oswald knew how to lift their spirits.
"Go on now - if you clean up fast enough you can get ice cream for dessert," he told them. All faces lit up.
"Okay!" They agreed, and got to work on putting away their costumes and toys. That always worked.
"I have a super ice cream scoop in my bag if you need it," Felix offered with humour in his tone. “It heats itself.”
"Oh, you're a saint," Oswald laughed, and then took his hand. "Come on, let's go before they convince us into helping clean," he said in a hushed tone, and dragged his friend through the hallway.
"They can clean by themselves?" Felix asked in surprise. Oswald tilted his head to the side.
"Almost. I've been teaching them, or rather just letting them learn. They're getting the hang of it now," he said, proud. Although he really should've been establishing this earlier. Cleaning up after four hundred kids had been a challenge.
He led the cat into the kitchen, where Donald and Mickey were making dinner, with some more kids hovering around. Some were trying to help, while others were doing that thing where they asked when dinner was ready every five seconds.
"Hey guys," he greeted as he and Felix stepped in. Donald looked over at him from the oven.
"Oh, hey," he grumbled, and closed the door, putting the oven glove down. Mickey noticed them next, halfway way through gathering dishes to lay out on the table.
"Felix!" He smiled, going up to the cat. "I thought I heard you!"
While Mick and Felix walked out to set the table after Felix offered to help, Oswald slid in next to grumpy pants. He propped an elbow on the counter casually. "What did you decide on for dinner?"
"Meatloaf," the duck answered in a enough of a mutter for it to fly over the kids' heads.
Oswald slapped the counter and pressed his lips into a line. "I know the drill," he said and sighed. Don't tell the kids until it was out on the table.
"Is dinner ready yet?" Sam asked.
"No," Donald said in a monotone voice. No doubt he'd been doing that for the last hour.
"Why don't you go and help your brothers and sisters clean up?" Oswald suggested. He got some pouty lips in response.
"But that's booriiiiing," Lucy complained, slumping over. Yeah, he'd suspected that outcome.
Sam was still looking up at Donald. "What about now?"
Donald sighed. "No."
"Hey, Donald, where's the ketchup?" Mickey asked as he entered the kitchen again, with Felix in tow. Donald's beady eyes went to the empty condiment space on the sauce rack, and quacked an exclamation, before turning a beady-eyed glare on the kids floating around him. A couple giggled mischievously.
"Now?"
Donald scowled. "No, Sam."
Oswald chuckled unashamedly, while Mick and Feels tried to hide theirs.
The cat stuck around for dinner. It was nice. He kept the kids entertained - he was always great with 'em. It was a joy having the cat around.
He'd also made on his offer with the ice cream scoop. That had been the easiest dessert serving ever. And with four hundred and five kids satisfied, Oswald and Felix made ones for themselves as a treat for some hardcore fathering. He felt they'd earned it.
They stayed chatting in the kitchen for a while, just about anything and everything. Conversation was easy with Felix. Especially now that he seemed less nervy.
Eventually, it grew closer to the kids' bedtimes, and Oswald's, admittedly. The cat stuck around to help out, which they were all extremely grateful for. He promised the kids with extra stories and playtimes if they went to bed, and made the whole experience so much easier for everyone. So afterwards Oswald offered to walk the cat home. It was the least he could do in return.
He accepted, and the two left the house, heading for Baker's Street, actually. Apparently there were some important meetings going on - even at eight o'clock in the evening the house was full, even with those who didn't actually live there.
Oswald walked him through the gate, up the path, and to the door.
"Ah, this is me," Felix joked lightly, tossing a thumb towards the door. Oswald quirked a smile.
"Hey Feels, uhh... I really appreciate tonight, and everything you've done," he said sincerely. "You're a real big help."
"Anytime," the cat pleasantly replied, his big eyes kind, and genuine, the brightness reflecting on Oswald.
A familiar need tugged at him. The need to just spill everything. Maybe it was because he was getting older now, that the uncertainty these types of feelings came with just didn't exist anymore. He wasn't nervous, or scared. He felt comfortable with Felix. Relaxed.
Despite that he still managed to appear odd to him.
"Are you okay, Ozzy?" His friend asked.
He shook himself out of his thoughts. "-Yeah, I'm good, I just... "
"... Do you wanna do this again someday?"
Felix blinked. "The lunch?"
"Yeah," he confirmed, fighting a wince. WHAT WAS HE DOING.
"Of course, I-I'd love to," the cat agreed with a shrug, and palmed the door handle, moving to enter the house.
"-Wait," Oswald halted, holding a hand out. Felix looked at him in surprise, and slowly lowered back to the same step as him, closing the door again.
"Look, Felix, I... You mean a lot to me," he said, as not much of a great start. "And... I mean the kids love you, and the rest of us love you, and... I-I don't know how much you mean to me, and in what way, like- I-I mean, I've never-"
Tap tap.
"-I-I'd love to have you around.... more," he groaned and gripped his own face. He was not saying any of the right things here.-
Tap tap, tap tap tap.
"And I... What I'm trying say- W-What- What is that tapping sound??" Oswald interrupted himself, whipping around to the noise.
There, tapping at the window, was a bird. And not just any bird. A deer-headed one.
"Fireball!" Felix exclaimed, and beamed. He went past Oswald and over to the bird's aid. "There you are, girl!"
Oswald scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Stars, he was falling hard here. He'd got himself in a right cussing mess with this one.