Archive of Our Own

Buddy carefully picked a path through the fallen leaves, taking care not to trip on any of the loose branches that lay half buried beneath them. Rounding a tree, he breathed a near-silent sigh of relief as he spotted his target. He'd been half expecting the blonde male to have already left the clearing.

He paused a moment, just drinking in the sight of the other male. His nemesis was dressed in a rather fetching peach outfit, consisting of a long sleeved shirt with short white ruffles at the wrists and cascading down the front, as well as matching shorts with white ruffles around the hems and a white sash instead of a belt. At first glance, it looked as if his legs were bare but… Was that white peeking out just above the darker peach knee-boots? Possibly.

Buddy kept his eye on the suspected knee socks as he started striding across the clearing. He wasn't disappointed.

Not only were they knee socks, but they had ruffles around the tops. How whimsical.

Adding to that, as he drew closer and finally shifted his attention from the other's knee socks back to the rest of him, he realised that the outfit also had a few darker peach roses on it.

He couldn't help the slight smile that touched his lips at the sight.

He'd never say it, but the blonde male was well suited to his key's style. He always looked cute and the flowers his key favoured enhanced that well.

"Buddy! There you are!"

At the familiar voice, Buddy quickly schooled his lips from the smile into a more appropriate smirk.

"Yes. Here I am. I'm surprised that you are still here, however. After all…" He lifted his eyes to lock with the other's honey gaze. "You're supposed to be my prey in this story. Only a little idiot like you would willingly wait for the big, bad, huntress to come find him." He allowed just a little bit of deep velvety purr into his voice near the end.

For… reasons.

Reasons that had nothing to do with causing honey eyes to widen, or a light flush to wash over his opponent's cheeks.

Which was good, since the effect was somewhat ruined by the faint frown that immediately creased the blonde male's brow.

"Find me? Deacon said we met up here. Oh, man!" Chase sighed. "If he did that on purpose…" He searched his pockets for a moment before pulling out a small stack of neat note cards. After a quick flip through them, he held one out.

"Can you take a look at this? I won't believe he's not pranking me some other way too, until you say it's all for real."

Buddy tried to ignore the rush of warmth he felt at the trust implied by that statement.

Taking the card, he quickly read it over before handing it back to his nemesis. "It is. In this story, I'm a huntress tasked with chasing the princess, you, down and capturing her. To do that…" He allowed just a little of his usual defensive mask to drop as he grimaced. "To do that, I need to chase you around the forest. As he wrote. So get running, brat."

Chase didn't move. "Uh. Before that, I have a question."

Buddy sighed, knowing from experience that it was easier and faster to just go along with him. "What is it?"

"Why are we actually going to do the whole running around the forest bit when it's only in the book for the reader to have something to laugh at in-between the tense dramatic scenes of the hero's group? No one's here to see us do it."

Caught by surprise, Buddy blinked. "You… Wait… Have you actually read this book?"

Chase shrugged as if he hadn't just completely up-ended every last one of Buddy's expectations about him over the older male's head. "Sort of. Last year. Some of my friends were raving over it and one of them lent me his copy so I wouldn't be left out. Honestly… I only read maybe half. I didn't really vibe with it the same way they did."

Now in complete shock, Buddy heard his own voice as if from very far away. "Oh? How did they, and you, 'vibe' with it?"

"My friends kept going on about the hero's group and how cool they all were and stuff. They also found the bit with the forest chase really funny."

Buddy somehow managed to dredge up a reasonably credible sneer. "Of course they did. It's hilarious."

A moment later, he took a step back in shock as his nemesis was suddenly far too close, with honey eyes flashing in obvious fury as the shorter male glared up at him. "W…What?"

"No." Despite his obvious anger, Chase's voice was very quiet. "No, it's not 'hilarious'. It's not funny at all. It's bad enough that the book's only female characters just run around a forest getting into situations for the readers to laugh at, while the guys all fight monsters and save villages and get rewards and fame. Having the huntress keep getting into trouble and need rescuing by the princess… That could be funny, sure. Except… The princess never steps up to help until after the huntress ends up unconscious. Every time. There's nothing funny about that."

The little idiot's anger suddenly made sense to Buddy. He shook his head slightly. "You said you didn't read all of the book. I'm guessing you stopped reading during the chasing part and never got to the end of it."

"Yeah." Chase, a little calmer but still standing much closer than normal, shrugged slightly. "I hated how the princess didn't just go to help as soon as the huntress got into trouble. I would always…" He stopped himself and looked away.

Buddy couldn't have spoken in more than a whisper at that moment, if he'd tried. "I know. Chase… I know. You would never wait." He sighed. "You… stopped reading too soon, though. There is a reason why the princess can't just step in immediately each time."

"Because if she tries while the huntress isn't out cold, the huntress won't accept the help and will just get mad. Right?" Chase frowned up at Buddy. "That's what my friends told me. But… That doesn't make any sense!"

"What do you mean?"

"I stopped reading around the third or fourth time the princess didn't help the huntress. But I skipped ahead to read the end. I…"

He suddenly looked away, his cheeks flooding with colour in a way that Buddy found quite fascinating. "You?"

Chase spoke very quietly. "I… I had to know. If the Huntress was… okay. At the end of the story. Um…"

"Ah." Buddy suddenly understood. "You're wondering how they go from the huntress chasing the princess to the two of them asleep side by side, when the hero's group finds them, if the huntress always refuses the princess's help?"

"Yeah. It's weird. I mean, I get it from the princess's side. She has nothing against the huntress from the start. But… the huntress is supposed to keep trying to catch her. Do they just call a truce or something?"

The blonde male looked so sweetly confused. Buddy sighed, resigned to the knowledge that he was going to answer such a foolish and inconsequential question. "In a way. This forest is the princess's usual training ground. She knows everything in here and how to avoid it. The huntress does not have that knowledge, so she keeps getting into trouble. Each time, it takes a toll on her. Eventually, all of the huntress's injuries become too much for her and she collapses. The princess takes advantage of her injured state to get them both to a safe place. This clearing. Once here, she binds her so she can't escape and then gets some rest until the hero's party arrives."

Chase frowned. "The bit about the huntress getting more hurt each time..."

Buddy winced slightly, suspecting he knew what was going through the brat's mind. "The story ends with the huntress still sleeping and nothing is mentioned about punishing her or anything, so nothing will happen to me, either. I'll be fine. I'll even feign unconsciousness earlier, so I'm not badly hurt during all of the… incidents. Now then… If your royal bratness is finally satisfied… Will you please start running?" He gave the other male his very best annoyed glare.

Chase met the glare with his own, steady gaze and shook his head slightly. "No. It's not fair to you, Buddy! You shouldn't have to get hurt just to do a part of the story that's only included so the audience enjoy the story more!"

"That's… It's how the story goes! It's part of it!" Even as he said the words, Buddy knew he didn't mean them quite as firmly as he should have. The brat was starting to get to him.

It was hard to argue for something that would hurt him.

There was also the whole thing about the brat being right…

He tried to keep his glare going, but he saw the moment Chase realised he'd effectively given up the fight. The blonde male's eyes softened and warmed.

"I have an idea. What if we did something else instead of the whole chasing thing? Something that won't hurt you. Then, when it's nearly time for the others to get here, we can have a nap. They'll find us exactly where and how they're meant to. That won't change anything in the story, right?"

Buddy had to take a few moments to consider the suggestion. He was a little surprised. Not only because it was actually quite a reasonable offer, but also… Chase had apparently given the possible consequences at least some thought.

Still… He was cautious. Any changes to a story held potential for chaos.

"What do you have in mind?"

Chase bit his lip. "I remember two things about this scene. How angry I got at the princess for not helping the huntress when she got into trouble and how the story kept them apart the whole time. It made them take turns. First it would be about the princess avoiding something, then it would switch to the huntress getting hurt by the same thing. Back to the princess to stop it and then back to the huntress to restart the chase. They were never in that part of the story together, except for when they were asleep at the end. So, I was thinking… What if we took turns too, but to do stuff together?"

"Such as?" Buddy watched, his curiosity increasing as the blonde male took a deep breath, as if bracing himself to say something he really wanted, but wasn't at all sure he'd get.

"If you let me do whatever I want to you for fifteen minutes, I'll let you do whatever you want to me for the same time. We take turns until it's time to nap, or we get bored. Oh! I have three rules, too!

Chase frowned up at Buddy, waiting for a moment, as if he expected some sort of protest.

Since Buddy was still trying to process the stunning offer his nemesis had just willingly made to him, he was unable to manage more than a soft, inquiring sort of sound.

"Nothing that hurts either of us. We can refuse if something makes us uncomfortable. No kissing."

Buddy blinked.

Opened his mouth to speak.

Closed it again.

Blinked again.

As stunned as he'd been by the original plan, the rules had made him even more so.

He could see the reasoning behind the first two, easily enough. They were exactly what he'd expected from Chase.

It was the third one that had him more than a little baffled.

He hesitated, unsure what he should reply.

This… Agreement? Game? Whatever it was… It would make him vulnerable but… only to a small degree that was acceptable to him. The rules were fair and would ensure that neither of them could really gain any sort of advantage over the other. More than anything, he wouldn't need to run around getting hurt. He really had no reason not to agree.

He really wanted to agree. If only to see what Chase had in mind.

Could he just agree, though? His nemesis was waiting and probably expected him to put up some sort of argument.

He hated to be predictable.

He also hated to allow the little idiot to set all of the terms for this… experience.

"Fine. But I have three conditions of my own." He smirked into the wide honey eyes fixed on him in rapt attention.

"What are they?"

"Firstly… Physical things only, no interrogating." He was about to list the others but Chase's reaction made him pause.

His nemesis was wincing.

"Oh. Yeah, definitely! Sorry, Buddy! I should have said that from the start. I never meant anything else."

A little warm feeling sparked inside of him. Chase was really upset. It hadn't been a deliberate omission.

"It's fine. Second…" Was he really going to say it? Yes. He was. "I want kissing to be included."

Buddy watched in surprise, and a very minor amount of concern, as the blonde male standing (still) far too close to him abruptly blushed so deeply that he matched the atrocious, and definitely not at all soft, warm or comfortable, red hoodie he'd once left behind in a story so Buddy had to return it, later. "Um… Are you…?"

"Okay! I mean… I'm okay. Not the ki… Um…" Chase paused, biting his lip as he seemed to search for something in Buddy's face. Or maybe just in his eyes. "How about… not on the lips but… other places are… okay?"

The older male took a moment to consider the compromise. Considering how difficult it had apparently been for Chase to agree to it, he doubted he'd get anything better. He could make it work. "Fine. For my last condition…"

Reaching out, Buddy lightly caught the brat's chin, his thumb just under the other male's lower lip.

He needed to make sure Chase couldn't look away for what he was about to say.

"I have one question that I want an answer to. Why do you want to do this?"

As he'd expected, Hoodie Chase immediately made a reappearance as his nemesis tried to look anywhere else but into his eyes.

"One little answer is all that's stopping me from agreeing to your… rather interesting offer."

He noted with interest how the blonde male reacted to the low purr he'd deliberately put into his voice.

That blush was definitely deeper, afterwards.

"I…" Chase sighed and then, surprisingly, smiled a little and visibly relaxed. "Okay. I guess you might as well know. A couple of days ago, I had a dream. We were in our outfits from that cat book we went into. Do you…?"

"I know the one you mean." Buddy nodded. Of course he remembered it.

He wasn't likely to so easily forget the brat getting him thrown off that boat. He'd been so wet!

"Okay. So, I was sitting in a grassy meadow and you were lying beside me and… you purred to get my attention, then said that you'd been a good kitty and thought you deserved a treat. We… er… kinda… talked about what kind of treat you wanted and…" Chase sighed. "No. It wasn't talking. We were flirting, Buddy. We were definitely flirting."

Out of every reason he'd thought he'd hear, this was not one of them.

The older male had to fight back a delighted laugh, but he couldn't quite stop the smug smirk that he could feel settling on his lips. "Were we? So what happened after the flirting, in this dream of yours?"

Of course he had to say it in as suggestive a purr as he possibly could.

It was the principle of the thing.

It was also fun to see how the adorable little idiot's cheeks flushed even more darkly, in response.

Although, the way the brat's eyes suddenly darkened as well, right before locking with his own, was… unexpected.

As was the low and slightly growly tone of Chase's reply.

"I asked you what kind of treat you wanted. You said… you wanted me. I was undoing your buttons when…"

"When?" Buddy was a little shocked to realise how… enthusiastic… he was over hearing the reply.

Also… when had he started to lean down?

"When Deacon yelled my name right in my ear and woke me up." Chase's voice was back to normal, except for the slightest hint of the same amusement that glinted in his eyes as he grinned up at Buddy.

Buddy blinked, then groaned softly. "You brat."

He started to step back, but a hand grasped his sleeve. So he arched an eyebrow at Chase, instead. "What?"

Chase was still grinning, but it was softer now. More like a real smile. "I haven't finished answering your question."

That… was a good point. "Ugh. Fine. What else?"

"I haven't been able to… forget that dream."

Chase's cheeks were a little red but he was clearly determined not to let embarrassment stop him from doing his best to make Buddy blush as well. "I keep wondering if the reality would be as… good. Because the dream was…" He sighed softly. "It was incredible, Buddy. We didn't even do much, really. But… I don't know. I can't explain it. I just…"

He shook his head as best he could, since his chin was still being held, then looked into Buddy's eyes again. "This book… Deacon picked it. He's off with the hero and… I think he said something about a pretty elf maiden…"

Buddy frowned but Chase shook his head. "Before you say anything, I know he's bad at choosing books I enjoy, but he actually put some thought into this one. I've been a bit… uh… distracted, since the dream. He told me my part in this one was simple, fun and I'd spend it helping you. He really thought I'd like it and no, he doesn't know about my dream, or that I've already read part of this book. I'm pretty sure he didn't read much of this forest bit, either."

Again, Chase shook his head as Buddy went to say something, but he also suddenly looked very serious. "I know you and Deacon don't exactly get along, but… He'd never deliberately suggest any book where you would get hurt. He's not like that. I think he got the wrong idea about this whole forest scene. I'll find out, later. I was going to say something at the time but…" Chase's cheeks darkened slightly.

"I thought, since you probably wouldn't like the whole running around the forest part, you might be willing to skip it and just spend the time with me. It… seemed like a good idea, since our characters are found together, anyway."

With a sigh, Chase looked up at Buddy. "I'm sorry. We don't have to do the whole taking turns things, if you're uncomfortable with it. I… I know my reason's kinda… Uh… A lot."

Buddy waited a moment. "Are you done? No more talking?" He looked somewhat amused. Maybe.

"Uh. Yes." Chase almost made the 'yes' a question, but stopped himself at the last moment.

"Good. Because I've been trying to tell you that I agree to your suggestion for at least five minutes, now."

Chase blinked. "Oh."

"So… You mentioned something about us taking turns? You may go first. Since it's your idea." Buddy smirked.

For a moment, Chase blinked at him, unsure if he'd really agreed. Then Buddy arched an eyebrow at him and he smiled so brightly the older male actually looked a bit dazed from it. "Okay!"

There was a good tree close by and Chase sat down with his back against it and his legs angled off to one side, so the spot directly in front of him was clear. Looking a little shy, he patted the spot. "Can you sit here and lean back against me?"

Buddy was moving before Chase finished speaking. "So we're not starting off with a reenactment of your dream?"

Did Buddy sound disappointed? Chase's face heated a little at the thought. "I thought you might feel more comfortable if we did something… uh… simpler, first. Less… Um…"

"Sexy?" Buddy smirked. "Fair enough. We'll work up to that, then." He leaned back against Chase.

"I was thinking 'intense' but… Okay." Chase smiled as he gently eased one hand around Buddy's waist to cuddle him close, as his other hand moved up to Buddy's hair. He started gently petting him.

Buddy was more than a little stunned to realise that was really all Chase intended to do for the whole 15 minutes of his turn.

Not that he was against the idea, at all.

He rested quietly, feeling not only Chase's hands on him but also the warmth of his body against his back. He could even feel the slight movement of the smaller male's chest as he breathed.

Buddy liked that. He also liked having Chase holding him so closely.

Probably a lot more than he should have.

To distract himself, he asked a question he'd forgotten to ask earlier. "How are we timing this?"

"Oh! I have an alarm on my watch. I set it to 15 minutes and I just turn it on when we start. We're at just past three minutes now."

"You came prepared." Buddy tried not to sound too appreciative, in case Chase got the wrong idea.

He was enjoying it, but that didn't mean he wanted the blonde male to know that.

Even so, when the alarm sounded, Buddy couldn't stop himself from pouting.

Just a little.

He moved away so Chase could stand up, but stayed on the ground. "Have a little walk around if you need to. I'll just get comfortable here." He smirked at the brat as he stretched, then moved into position.

He'd had time to think. To plan.

Once he was seated with his back to the tree and his legs crossed, he patted his lap. "When you're ready. Sit sideways and lean into me." As soon as Chase was in position, Buddy slipped both of his arms around the smaller male and just held him close. The only movement he made was a light nuzzle of the blonde hair with his cheek.

The only sound he made was a soft, yet long, sigh of utter contentment.

Although the sigh surprised Chase, he was more surprised a moment later, when Buddy completely relaxed into him.

That was the moment when he realised something about the other male that he'd noticed before, but had never quite been able to put into words.

It wasn't just that Buddy enjoyed touching and being touched by others. Although he did.

He also seemed to take a great deal of comfort from it.

Not for the first time, Chase silently cursed Ex Libris even as he promised himself that, some day, he'd bring Buddy home and make sure that he was properly, and very thoroughly, cared for.

That was for the future Chase Hollow to think about, though.

The present Chase Hollow just wanted to enjoy his cuddle time with Buddy.

When the timer alarm went off, neither male moved right away.

Buddy nuzzled the blonde hair a little more deliberately while it was still conveniently there, expecting it to be taken away at any moment. The longer that didn't happen, the more curious he grew as to why it was still there.

"Are you still awake?"

"Yep. I'm just thinking. I figured you wouldn't mind a slightly longer turn while I work out my next one. Sorry, I should have said something."

"No. No, that's fine. You don't have anything in particular in mind?"

"It's…" Chase sighed softly. "It's more the other way. There are too many things. I'm trying to work out what's about halfway between this and my dream."

"Ah. So you still wish to lead up to that? Halfway… The turn after this one, then?"

"I think so. I was also thinking we might... if you were okay with it… make the time limit longer for the next turns. I'm not sure how much time my dream took. Dreams are weird like that. I think it was longer than fifteen minutes. It felt like I was just looking at you for at least that long."

"Hm. Yes. I would be fine with extending the time limit." He fought to remain calm and not think too much about the idea of Chase just looking at him for that long. He really needed to think about something else.

"I know what I wish to do for my next turn." He considers for a moment. "I did have something in mind for a turn after that, also. Before the… main event." He smirked at the soft, embarrassed sort of squeak uttered by the male in his arms at his choice of wording but kept talking, determined to voice his idea without becoming too distracted. "Perhaps… They both require you to be sitting against the tree, although for one of them, you would be actively moving and I would just be… receiving."

"Huh." Chase moved his head slightly. A very light nuzzle into Buddy's shoulder. "Since I can't decide… Do you want to do both of yours, instead? I don't mind. I… really want you to be comfortable and… enjoy this."

"I am. Both comfortable and enjoying this. Very much so." He had said a little more than he'd meant to but… That was fine. It was true, anyway.

"Okay. So what do you want me to do?"

"Switch places with me. You sitting against the tree with your legs out in front of you. I'll position myself and then… Well, I suspect you'll see my intention at that point but… if you want to do something of your own, I won't complain."

"Sounds good." Chase began to move off Buddy's lap, but slowly, allowing the older male time to get in one last hair nuzzle, first.

Which, of course, Buddy didn't hesitate to take full advantage of.

Once Chase was sitting against the tree, with his legs stretched out in front of him as he'd been instructed, Buddy also didn't hesitate to take full advantage of the blonde male's newly available lap.

As he blinked down at the male curled up like a cat along his legs, Chase was struck by sudden curiosity. "Is that position really comfy for you?"

Buddy frowned slightly while shifting a little. "Normally, yes. Right now… Something isn't right." He shifted again.

Chase bit his lip and tried to distract himself from the feel of the warm weight wiggling against his body. "Uh…" His eyes travelled down the other male's lithe form from head to toe.

He blinked as he noticed something.

"One of your feet is hanging off one side, in the air. If you don't have enough room, you could move up a bit. Put your head on my… uh… tummy instead of my… Instead of where it is now."

Hopefully Buddy wouldn't look up and see just how flushed he was.

Buddy did not, in fact, look up.

"Hm. You're right. On both counts. What a surprise."

Despite the insult, Buddy did indeed move his whole body up a few inches, until his head was snuggling into Chase's belly. Then he brought one knee forward a bit so he could tuck his wayward foot up under his other leg.

The moment he did that, his whole body tensed.

Worried, Chase was about to ask if Buddy was okay when the other male suddenly collapsed on top of him.

One moment, he was as stiff as a dancer learning a new routine. The next, he was practically a throw rug of dark green silk and brown leather, draped over Chase's legs and belly.

The blonde male blinked. "For real? Your foot was the problem?"

"Apparently. Now, stop talking and pet me."

"Pet… Oh. Okay." Chase began gently stroking Buddy's hair. Much to his amusement, the action resulted in the older male letting out a sound remarkably similar to the purr of a particularly contented cat.

Smiling, Chase decided to go one step further. His other hand moved to rest gently on Buddy's back. When there was no reaction, he began gently stroking there, too.

Immediately, the purring sound intensified.

Chase fought back a laugh with some difficulty. "Should I ask Deacon to look for books where the main Villainess is a cat? I know he's found two so far, so there's probably more."

"Only if I get petted in every one of them and don't get wet."

Buddy's voice sounded unusually sleepy.

"Wait. Did you say… two?"

Ah. Buddy was completely awake and alert again.

"Yep! The one we've already done and one he said was a bad idea because he wasn't sure if you'd be the cat or the mean sister. He was hoping for the sister, because I do some stuff with the cat, but he said the cat was meaner, so…"

Buddy moved his head just enough for him to look up at Chase. He looked far more interested than the topic should probably have resulted in. "I see. Define this 'stuff' your character does with the cat."

"Really, Buddy?" Chase arched a disbelieving eyebrow at the male curled up in his lap. "That's what you're interested in? Okay, whatever floats your goat, I guess. I don't know much, though. He called it 'normal human looking after a cat stuff', that would be 'super awkward' if you were the cat, but he wouldn't explain it more than that. It did make him go as red as the time he walked into the ladies changing rooms by mistake though. Only… with a lot less running and wheezing afterwards. He didn't start crying, either."

"I… see."

Buddy, for some reason, had to pause for a few moments at that point. Chase could feel him trembling a little and considerately petted and back-rubbed him more thoroughly, just in case that helped.

It seemed to work, as Buddy spoke up again.

"If you were to go into such a book, as long as the cat is female and even the slightest bit… naughty… Violet could easily make me the cat instead of the sister." With that said, and his voice a little shaky as if was holding in laughter or something like that, he buried his face rather firmly into Chase's belly.

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that. Great! I'll let Deacon know. Or not. I think he's going to be out tomorrow. Maybe then?"

"I'll let Violet know it's a possibility."

His voice was only a little muffled by his position.

Chase smiled and continued to pet the relaxed male. "Okay."

When the alarm went off a few minutes later, Buddy stirred and started to sit up but Chase stopped him. "Hang on. Before you go out of your cat mode, there's something I need to do."

The older male eyed him curiously. "What is it?"

"This." With a soft smile, Chase leaned forward as he reached up a hand to push Buddy's bangs off his forehead. He placed the softest of kisses there, before easing back. His face was quite flushed, but otherwise he looked rather pleased with himself.

Buddy blinked, more than slightly shocked. "Wh… What was that for?"

"You always have to kiss kitties on their furry little foreheads." Reaching up again, a little lower, Chase playfully booped Buddy's nose with a finger. "It's practically a law. Didn't you know?"

"… Brat." Even as he spoke, Buddy looked away to try and hide as much of his own rapidly flushing face as he could.

Chase grinned. "Well, this brat wants to know what you're doing for your turn. You have something planned, right?"

Buddy nodded. "I do indeed."

Smirking, he suddenly moved until he was sitting on the smaller male's lap with his knees on either side of the other's hips and his belly pressed into the other's body. One hand moved to rest on the back of Chase's neck, the fingers idly stroking up into the back of the soft blonde strands there. The other hand stroked slowly down over Chase's chest and belly, leaving a shiver in its wake, before coming to rest on his hip. Buddy's smirk intensified into one worthy of the Demonesses that he occasionally played in the stories as he leaned forward to rest his head on Chase's shoulder.

"Is this all right?" His voice was barely a whisper, but the other male still shivered in reaction to it.

"Y… Yep! This is great! Uh… I mean… It's okay. I'm okay. You're… doing great! I'm… gonna shut up now."

Buddy couldn't help it. He buried his face into the side of Chase's neck as he shook with laughter.

A couple of minutes later, when he was able to speak again, he gently nuzzled the spot he'd been laughing against before speaking in his richest, most velvety purr of a voice. "If this is all it takes to make such a mess of you, I'm clearly going to have to do this more often in the future."

"I'm not a mess! I'm just really into you! I mean… This! I'm really into this! No, wait, that's worse… Uh…"

More laughter into his neck came as Chase gave up and, with a heavy sigh, slipped his arms around Buddy's back to hold him gently, so he didn't hurt him, but also firmly enough so the other male knew he wasn't going to be let go any time soon, or at all easily.

His hands started moving all on their own, slowly stroking in a caress that soon had Buddy making soft happy purring sounds while snuggling more into Chase.

It took about five minutes or so… Maybe eight… Ten at most… before Chase remembered he needed to start the timer.

For a little while, they were both silent as they simply cuddled into each other. Then Buddy sighed softly.

"All right. Just this once, I'll say it. You were right."

"Huh? About what?" Chase couldn't quite keep his surprise out of his voice.

"This. It's much better than us running around the forest for hours. I also greatly prefer it to being hurt."

"Oh. Yeah. I like it better than all of that, too. Especially you being safe. This book… It's really not a good one for you, if this bit isn't changed. I'll make sure I tell Deacon off for it, as soon as we get back. Or did you want to be part of that? We can totally do it before the end of the book, if you want?" Chase sounded quite enthusiastic about it.

Buddy gave the matter his most serious consideration. "Do we have time between when they find us and the end of the book? It's only a couple of minutes, at most."

"The book ends with us leaving the forest. If we stay in the clearing while we tell him off… That would work, right?"

"In theory." Normally, he hated deviating from the story, but… In this case, he was willing to make an exception.

Especially since it wasn't a deviation but rather a delaying tactic. Those didn't usually affect the story as badly, if at all.

"Very well. I'll leave the talking to you. I would, however, rather enjoy watching your… friend be told off about it."

"I thought you would. Okay." Chase chuckled and gently tightened his hold on Buddy in what was definitely not a hug, if anyone had cared to ask him what he was doing at that particular moment.

In response, or perhaps merely a coincidence in timing, Buddy nuzzled his face more firmly into Chase's shoulder.

"So… your turn is up next. It's… the scenario you dreamed of?"

"Yep! It's nothing hard. You just lie on your back as cat-like as you can and I sit on your belly and undo some buttons!"

Chase frowned as he noticed something. "Buddy… Why are you laughing?"

"Because I suspect it will be considerably harder than you give either of us credit for."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it, brat." For once, the insult sounded almost like a weird sort of endearment. "Undoing some buttons. That was where your dream ended?"

"Yep!" Chase was only partly pouting because of the punchline he'd obviously missed a few moments earlier.

The rest of his pout was for his dream self not getting Buddy's buttons undone quickly enough to fit within the dream.

"Do you…"

Chase's attention was caught by the unusually hesitant note in the other male's voice. It wasn't like Buddy to be less than completely confident. "Do I… what?"

"Do you only want to go that far this time, too?"

Chase blinked. He was so caught off guard by the question, and the realisation that he hadn't even considered that so he didn't have an answer ready, that it was almost a whole minute before he could make himself reply.

"Um. I… What would… I mean… How far do you… want to go?" Knowing how lame an answer that was, he held Buddy a little closer, one hand moving in a gentle rubbing motion that he hoped the other male found as comforting as he did. "I don't want to… make you uncomfortable or do anything you don't… um… want to do with me."

Buddy closed his eyes, his hands moving instinctively. The one in Chase's hair slipped up to stroke it more thoroughly, while the hand on Chase's hip began to lightly stroke there, as well. "How are you real?"

The words were no more than a whisper.

If Buddy hadn't spoken so closely to Chase's ear, they would have gone unheard.

Chase still needed a moment to reassure himself that he had actually heard them and they'd been real. Then, a tide of red washed over his face and he leaned his head down a little, resting it against Buddy's soft hair.

He was about to reply when he changed his mind. He knew Buddy hadn't really meant for him to hear it, after all.

He could let him have that.

"I didn't get all of your buttons undone before Deacon woke me up. I'd… at least like to get your shirt open, this time."

Buddy made a soft sound of amusement. "Did that abrupt ending get you a little frustrated, perhaps?"

If there was a little more velvet and purr in his voice, that was entirely because it suited that particular line.

"I woke up to Dorkin yelling in my ear. I'd like to see you remember what you'd been dreaming about immediately, if you woke up to that."

Buddy winced. "That's… All right, yes, that's fair. So when did you…?"

"Just after and, if you must know, my first reaction was to slap myself so I'd stop getting distracted by it."

"Oh? So you found thoughts of me to be… distracting… did you?" So what if he'd again increased both the level of velvet and the purr volume, at that? There was no law against it and even if there had been…

Well, he was a Villainess, after all.

Chase sighed. "Buddy… It was a row of buttons! I missed undoing them all! Of course I was distracted!"

Buddy arched an eyebrow that went unseen by his nemesis, since it was still snuggled into his shoulder. "I see. Well… In that case, you had better be sure to undo them all, this time."

Chase blinked, immediately forgetting that he was meant to be in the middle of his rant. "What? Is that… You really don't mind?"

"Not at all. Take my shirt off completely, if you like. Although… I should warn you…"

"Uh…" Chase frowned. "Warn me about what?"

"Anything you do to me… I will do to you when it is my turn."

Chase went completely still.

He also went completely silent.

Buddy blinked, then silently cursed himself for ruining something else. Just like he always…

"Is that a promise?"

The quiet words dragged him back out of his spiralling thoughts with an ease that left him more than a little stunned.

"Uh… Yes? I mean… If you… want it to be, I could… We could…" Buddy suddenly found himself unsure of the right words to say what he desperately wanted to say, at that moment.

Luckily… Chase had his back.

"How about we make it a dare, then?" Chase's voice was still a little too quiet for his normal level of enthusiasm, although the idea was definitely something he'd come up with. "Anything I do to you, you do back to me on your turn."

Buddy forced himself to take a moment to think about it and not just agree immediately. "Consequences?"

"If you don't, I'll pout at you. Then I'll hug you and rub your back and reassure you that it's okay. If you do… What would you like?"

For a single instant, Buddy was tempted to ask for Chase's full name and address.

So he could retrieve his and his… friend's keys. Of course. No other reason. Definitely not.

Certainly not so he could go to Chase for real world cuddles, petting, holding and other stuff Chase did that felt good.

Although… that did give him an idea for his answer to Chase's question.

"Since the sleeping scene comes after that, I want it to be a… continuation of what we're doing now. Not a separate scene where I'm unconscious and you're… not within arm's reach."

Buddy had never thought he'd be so relieved to have his face hidden in his nemesis's shoulder.

Then again, he'd never expected to say anything that embarrassing, either.

He'd also never expected the feel of the smaller male's arms tightening around him to feel so warm and comforting.

"Okay. Yeah. That sounds good. Especially the 'not unconscious' part. Deal?"

Buddy took a steadying breath, trying to calm his suddenly racing heart. "Deal."

"We have a few minutes like this, still. Then… I'll get off you and you can get into position."

"Tell me again what that is. In detail."

"On your back with your hands up either side of your head. Like…" Chase thought for a moment. "Like you'd been tackled and someone was holding your hands so you couldn't fight back. Only your hands were curled like cat paws."

Buddy blinked. "Do you often describe things as if someone has been tackled?"

"Only when it's the closest thing I can think of."

"Ah." A slight nod into Chase's shoulder and he went silent, considering the description. "What was going on with my legs? Straight out? Crossed at the ankles? Crossed at the knee so you had something to lean back against, perhaps?"

"They were…" Chase paused to think about it. "Uh… You know what? I don't think the dream showed that. It was focused on where I was sitting, then went up your shirt buttons and to your face and cat paws."

"I see. Straight out would likely be most comfortable for both of us, in that case. Was I doing anything while you were unbuttoning my shirt? I can think of a few possibilities but it was your dream."

Chase grinned at the question. "Just one thing. You were saying my name. Well… moaning it, really. It morphed into Deacon yelling it in my ear, though, so if you want to do something else…" He shrugged. "I'd like to hear it again, but the real thing probably wouldn't be the same, anyway."

"I'll see what I can do. You'll need to make me feel like moaning it, though." Buddy smirked at the thought. "Just my buttons won't be enough, for that. Just so you know."

"Oh. Huh." Chase thought about that. "I could… stroke your chest and belly, maybe?"

"I thought you said you were sitting on my belly through the unbuttoning?" Buddy frowned as he considered the logistics of that. "Although… You said I was in my cat outfit so… Were you actually sitting on some of my buttons?"

"Uh… I don't think so. No. Your shirt was raised up a bit because of where your hands were and I was sitting a bit lower down so I was just clear of it. I looked down at one point."

"Oh. So you weren't on my belly but…" Buddy trailed off as it dawned on him exactly where Chase was going to be sitting.

"Upper legs! Yeah! There!" Chase, having had the same realisation, quickly blurted out the first thing he thought of.

"Uh. Right. Of course." Buddy just as quickly agreed.

Anything to avoid thinking of…

Yes.

Well.

The timer chose that moment to go off, breaking the tension even as it created a whole new instance of it.

Buddy gently nuzzled his face into Chase's shoulder. "Ready?"

"Y… Yeah. Yep! Definitely! Y… You?"

Sitting up straight, Buddy looked directly into widening honey eyes and smirked as sexily as he had ever smirked at anyone. "Yes. Very much so."

His smirk became just a little more wicked as Chase visibly swallowed.

Moving, Buddy smoothly shifted off the smaller male's lap and onto the grassy area next to them, away from the tree. With one last glance, and a bonus smirk, at his nemesis, Buddy lay down with his hands in cat paw form up beside his head and his legs straight down.

If his smirk also distracted Chase from realising how unsure and vulnerable he felt in that particular pose…

Well, he could only hope that it did.

Chase looked at Buddy for a couple of moments, taking in his appearance more than the positioning that he probably should have been checking. It was just…

He looked the same. Despite his outfit being quite different.

It was still… Buddy.

In his dream, it had been Buddy as Mewcifer. Complete with sparkly cat eared tiara.

The one lying before him was Buddy… waiting for him.

His shirt was a green so dark it was almost black, with a complicated vine pattern just a couple of shades darker, so it was only noticeable if you looked really closely. The shirt was a very short tunic, ending just past the waistband of his skintight black pants that tucked into mid-thigh dark brown leather boots. His belt was matching leather, along with the sword holder thingy attached to it. A black handle with an oval purple jewel was all of the sword that was visible.

He looked his role. A huntress. Predatory. Strong. Easily able to blend in with the forest around them.

The look on his face… The smirk. The gleaming eyes. The hint of uncertainty they held.

Oh.

Chase moved without realising he was going to.

Just as he had in his dream, he swung one leg over Buddy's body and allowed his weight to settle on him.

Unlike in his dream… He was immediately hit with several sensations all at once.

Most of them he firmly forced to the back of his mind, to think about later.

Only one needed urgent attention.

"Uh… Tiny change in plans, Buddy. Your sword… Can I…?"

"Hm? Oh. Is it in the way? You can take it off."

"Great! Uh…" Chase frowned as he studied the leather sword holder. "How does it…? Do I just undo your belt?"

"Well… You could. If you want to." Buddy watched with amusement as Chase blushed rather deeply at the words. Finally, he took pity on the brat. "The scabbard has a clip that goes over the belt. There's a button at the back."

"There is? These things come in clip on versions? I thought that was just ties." Chase leaned over to see better.

Buddy bit his lip to keep himself from gasping as the movement sent a trembling shock up his spine.

"Got it!" Chase's obvious happiness was a surprisingly good cover for Buddy's whimper as the smaller male sat up again, holding his prize up for the world, and Buddy, to see.

"V… Very good. Just… throw it off to one side. Not too far though. This clearing should be safe but… There are monsters in this forest and we haven't been running around finding them, so…"

Was it mostly a distraction so Chase wouldn't notice anything was wrong? Yes.

Was it also actually true? Unfortunately, also yes.

Chase paused to look around before carefully putting the sword off to one side of Buddy. "They didn't come near the clearing in the book. At the end, there was something about some kind of… words? Something that stopped monsters."

Buddy blinked and had to think for a moment before he realised. "Not 'words'. Wards. They're not set up at this point."

Chase frowned at that. "Uh. That seems… kinda like something you should have told me earlier. How…?"

Buddy refused to admit out loud that he'd completely forgotten that admittedly rather important detail, earlier.

"You set them up when you bring me here to rest. Or rather… You activate the ones that are already set up here. Look for the trees with glowing marks on them. There should be four, one in each direction. You just need to look at one of the marks and say 'Wards, protect'." He shook his head quickly as Chase began to move off him. "No, you don't need to move! It will work from here, as long as you have a line of sight on all four marks."

"Uh…" Looking around, Chase did a quick count of the glowing marks he could see. "Three… Oh, there it is! Four! Okay. Give me a minute." He quickly followed Buddy's instructions and soon a faint glow surrounded the clearing.

"Well done. The wards are all set and we won't be disturbed. Not that it was likely, anyway."

"Buddy, if something had come along before I got your buttons undone… they wouldn't have liked the result."

The look in Chase's eyes at that moment made Buddy realise that the little idiot wasn't talking about his character's fighting skills. He'd likely forgotten all about having those.

No. Buddy was certain that Chase would have fought anything that dared to disturb them, with only his own skills.

It probably wasn't the best time for him to realise just how much he… liked that idea.

"Chase." It took more effort than he liked to keep his voice steady.

"Hm?" The blonde male blinked innocently down at him, One hand resting on one side of his belly as the other lightly stroked the other side of his chest, seemingly by instinct.

"If you don't start undoing my buttons right now, I'll undo them for you."

The threat had the expected effect.

"What? No! I want to! I'm doing it now!" Pouting at the male lying pinned beneath him, Chase started working on the row of buttons down the front of Buddy's tunic.

Buddy breathed a sigh of relief as both of Chase's hands were suddenly involved in something other than touching him.

Well… More or less.

At least he didn't have a warm pressure on one side of his belly at the same time as a gentle stroke over his chest on the other side.

No.

He was just aware of every movement of Chase's hands as his agile fingers worked their way down his chest, revealing his bare skin one button at a time.

He'd already whimpered out loud once.

He really didn't want to do so again.

As Chase drew closer to the end of the row of buttons, though, Buddy realised that he was having far more difficulty holding himself back.

Just as he thought he might whimper again… his nemesis paused on the fourth last button!

"Why are you stopping?" Buddy spoke up without thinking and immediately regretted it. His voice was… strained.

His eyes snapped open and he found himself staring up into Chase's wide and startled honey eyes.

"Buddy. Are you… okay?" Clearly concerned, Chase moved one hand off the buttons and up to lightly cup the other male's cheek. "You're… Um. You're shivering."

He was? Oh. He was.

"I'm fine." At the brat's obviously skeptical look, Buddy shook his head slightly. "It's… Nothing's wrong. It's… too right, if anything." He could feel the heat rushing into his cheeks.

Even more so when Chase's eyes widened more and he could see the realisation dawn in them.

Well. He knew what the situation was. Great. Just great.

"Just… I'm fine. Just hurry up and finish with the buttons and… whatever else you want to do." He looked away.

The hand on his cheek moved a little in the slightest, gentlest rubbing motion.

"Okay. I… Okay. I can do that." The hand moved away and, a moment later, the unbuttoning resumed.

When the last button was finally released, Buddy suddenly realised he'd been holding his breath. He breathed out, feeling a little dizzy.

He wasn't too distracted to notice Chase moving his shirt aside to show most of his chest and belly, however.

"Having fun there?" For once, he wasn't being sarcastic.

He really was wondering what Chase was thinking, as the brat looked at him.

With those gorgeous honey eyes that seemed somehow… darker? A bit more serious than usual?

"Mm. You're beautiful, Buddy."

He hadn't expected… that.

While still getting over the shock, Chase stunned him even more.

"Can I… Is it okay if I… do more?"

The voice was uncharacteristically quiet.

Was he feeling… shy?

Buddy was still stunned but he suddenly knew he had to answer.

He suddenly knew exactly what he wanted to answer, too.

"Yes. Do whatever you want. Just remember… Whatever you do to me, I'll do to you, too."

Chase bit his lip slightly. "Promise? No… I mean…" He shook his head. "That too but… Do you promise you'll stop me if I make you uncomfortable?"

That was all it took.

Buddy suddenly relaxed as all his tension and nervousness simply vanished.

Why had he ever been worried? This was good! No, this was more than good.

This was Chase.

His Heroine.

The one person who would not only stop if he asked him to… but would stop to ask if he needed to stop.

This aggravating, irritating, adorable, captivating and utterly ridiculous brat.

Buddy smirked up at Chase, who was still looking concerned. "Chase. I promise. Both. But if you're still unsure… lean down for a minute."

His expression shifting to curious, the blonde male did just that.

Buddy gently touched his cheek, silently directing him to turn his head so he could whisper in his ear exactly what he was hoping Chase would do to him, as it was what he wanted to do to Chase, in return.

It took less than ten seconds of whispering for Hoodie Chase to make a return.

It took less than a minute after that before a newly enthused, although still rather blushy, Chase began to show Buddy exactly what he thought of all of his 'suggestions'.

When the timer went off, ten minutes later, Chase turned it off and went right back to what he was in the middle of.

Buddy had no complaints about that.

Not a single one.

At that point, his mind was too preoccupied with enjoying everything going on, to even think of words.

Although, by the time Chase finished dropping a line of sweet, soft kisses down the middle of his chest and belly, Buddy had managed to not only moan the other male's name several times, but he had also thought of three little words that he wouldn't mind saying to his nemesis.

Since the blonde male dared to sit up after that, Buddy decided it was a good time to say them.

"Please. Don't stop."

Chase smiled even as a tide of colour flooded his cheeks. "Not even so you can have your turn?"

As he spoke, he lightly stroked one hand down, over one side of Buddy's chest and belly. When he reached the waistband of Buddy's pants, his hand paused and then ran along it in a lightly teasing move, towards the one button on Buddy's clothes that wasn't undone.

Buddy's breathing had already been rather heavy for a while, but he congratulated himself on only starting to pant at that moment.

Of course, Chase noticed immediately.

Noticed… and instantly moved his hand back to the safer zone of Buddy's belly. "Too far? Sorry. Are you okay?"

Buddy struggled to take a deep breath and calm down a bit before answering. "No. Don't be. No."

He promptly wanted to kick himself. He'd meant to say that he was fine.

Because he was.

He was fine.

He was sure that he was fine.

He wasn't sure why he'd said he wasn't.

He was so busy telling himself off for saying that… It took him a few moments to realise that Chase was just sitting quietly on top of him, lightly stroking his belly and watching him with gentle, understanding eyes and a sweet smile.

"Ch… Chase? I'm… I'm fine. I don't know why I said…" A finger to his lips stopped him from finishing.

Blonde curls danced in the air with the force of the headshake. "Don't. I'm happy you're comfortable enough to say 'no' to me about something like that. I was starting to feel like we were maybe going too fast. I mean… Don't get me wrong! I'm enjoying this and… I think… I hope… you…" He bit his lip.

"Yes. I'm enjoying this, too." Buddy's voice was quiet, holding perhaps a hint of shyness. Vulnerable.

Chase smiled brightly. "Then, how about I do one more thing and then you take your turn? Nothing too much, I promise! It's really quick!"

"What…?" Buddy cut himself off and just nodded.

It was a bit shocking to him to realise just how much he trusted the brat, but… he did. In this way, at least.

Moving his hands to rest lightly on Buddy's shoulders, Chase smiled and nodded back. "Okay, sit up for a second."

Buddy frowned as he found doing that to be rather more of a struggle than he'd expected.

An unexpected huff of laughter from the one still sitting on his lap resulted in a glare that earned him another laugh.

"What is so amusing, brat?"

"It might work better if you let go of my waist and used your hands to push yourself up off the ground."

"…" Gathering what little of his ragged dignity he had remaining after that, Buddy decided not to give the other male the satisfaction of a reply and simply did as suggested.

He also deliberately ignored the resulting laugh when he sat up with ease, as a result.

Ignoring the hand that touched his cheek so softly… That was impossible and he didn't even try.

The moment Chase had Buddy's face turned towards his own, he smiled at him. "There you are."

Then… he leaned forward, resting his forehead against Buddy's.

It turned out, being on Buddy's lap put him at the perfect height for it.

If Buddy happened to make a mental note of that fact…

Well…

It was purely for… Um… Research purposes.

He closed his eyes to get another perspective.

Also for research purposes.

Of course.

The length of time they stayed like that was not part of his… research.

Which was a good thing, as neither of them were quite sure how long it was before they finally opened their eyes again and Chase slowly stroked Buddy's cheek before moving off his lap.

Buddy was somewhat surprised to realise that he felt a little cold without the blonde male so close.

He could have rebuttoned his shirt, of course, but… He took it off, instead.

Judging by the heated look that earned him… Buddy had a feeling that Chase approved of the decision.

A moment later, that feeling and its accompanying thoughts, along with all other awareness of everything around him, vanished as Chase lay down in the grass and raised his hands up near his face.

Chase, being Chase, didn't just put his cat-paw mimicking hands on the grass though. Of course not. He did… extra.

He wiggled them playfully, and very cutely, in the air next to his face.

Then… "Meow."

Buddy had spent most of their time together in that story coming up with a very detailed plan for that moment.

That sound made him completely forget every bit of it.

Barely a moment later, he had swung his leg over Chase and was lowering himself onto the smaller male's upper thighs.

Chase's cheeks flushed, but he looked more smug than embarrassed. "Oh. You liked that, huh?"

Icy blue met rich honey.

The flush in the blonde male's cheeks deepened.

Buddy smirked. "Brat. You know I did."

"Mm. It is a bit… obvious, yeah."

Buddy leaned slightly forward, causing the male beneath him to gasp softly even as Buddy's smirk became far more wicked. "I'm not the only one who's being… obvious, right now."

His hands were already in motion as he spoke, moving aside the ruffles down the front of his nemesis's shirt.

His movements were quick and precise as he began to undo the row of buttons that had been hidden behind it.

Leaning down further, he placed a soft kiss on every bit of bare skin he uncovered along the way.

By the third button, Chase was panting softly.

By the sixth button, Chase was whimpering less softly.

As Buddy's placed his kiss on the skin above the final button… Chase moaned Buddy's name.

Loudly.

Buddy hummed softly, acknowledging the compliment. He looked up into Chase's face as he undid the last button, his smirk melting away into a slight smile at the tension in the slender body lying beneath his own and the flush which had spread from the other male's cheeks down his neck and across a little of his chest.

"Glorious." He barely whispered the word before placing his final kiss where the last button had been, lingering over it.

He remembered everything Chase had done to him after reaching the same point, of course. As promised, he intended to do all of it back to Chase. But first…

There was something else that he had thought of earlier and seeing Chase laid out before him, all soft, flushed skin and pretty, vulnerable openness, made it suddenly imperative that he put everything else on hold while he did it.

His hands moved without his conscious direction, sweeping aside the open shirt until all of Chase's chest and belly were on full display. Leaning forward, he reached out until his hands touched the bare skin at his Heroine's sides; at first tentatively, but then more firmly, in response to the soft moans that immediately filled the air around them.

The moans which grew agreeably louder as Buddy stroked his hands up and over Chase's chest.

Leaning forward more, Buddy moved first one hand, then the other, out of the way so he could drop a light kiss on the two places that, exactly as planned, caused Chase to interrupt his moans with gasps.

Returning his hands to their assigned positions, Buddy began recreating everything the brat had done to him during the previous turn. Just as he'd promised.

Considering that he only moved one hand when it was absolutely needed and otherwise continued with his own little improvised addition to the promised event schedule, Buddy was quite pleased with how well he kept his word.

The other male's wordless moans and cries throughout were more than enough proof of that.

He had intended to finish his turn by placing a final scattering of feather-light kisses across a surprisingly well-toned abdomen, but he was still considering his options up to the last kiss.

The bonus lick of the soft skin just above the spot where a single button on Chase's pants had been sneakily undone earlier in his turn was impulsive, but it proved to be the perfect choice.

Buddy was especially satisfied by the notably loud scream of his name that one kitten-ish lick drew from his nemesis.

As he slowly eased himself up so he was sitting on top of the smaller male's thighs, as at the start of his turn, Buddy was a little surprised to find that he was panting almost as much as Chase was.

He wasn't quite so surprised at how tired he suddenly felt, though.

It was the story's way of demanding that they move on with the plot.

Giving in to one last impulse, Buddy took Chase's hands in his own, intertwining their fingers as he moved their clasped hands up to the grass either side of the other's very tousled blonde hair. He smiled down at his wide-eyed nemesis, for once without the slightest hint of sass, snark or sarcasm.

"I know you're a little idiot, but I hope you've at least realised that there's no going back from what we've done here. I won't go easy on you because of this but… just know… from this moment on... You are mine." What started out as a rich velvet purr, ended on a growl so fierce that it surprised even him.

Chase blinked and then, unexpectedly, grinned. "Buddy, that's the most threatening way you could possibly have told me that. You could have just said you want us to be boyfriends now."

On that point, it was Buddy's turn to blink. "I… I didn't mean… Not that I would object… But I didn't… I don't expect…" He paused for a moment, blinking again at the brat.

Possibly… his brat?

Was… Was this how people got brats of their very own?

He came out of his thoughts very abruptly when he noticed that Chase was pouting at him. "What is wrong?"

"You don't… want to be my boyfriend?"

Buddy didn't know if the sad note he heard in Chase's voice was real or if the brat was a better actor than he had ever given him credit for, but it didn't matter.

To be more accurate… He simply didn't care, as his answer was the same anyway.

He tightened his grip on Chase's hands. "I already told you. You are mine. If that's how you want to interpret it… I won't stop you. Or… disagree with you." He could feel the heat rising into his cheeks as he said it, but he refused to let that stop him. "We… don't know what lies ahead. At some point we will have to…"

Suddenly, he couldn't say it.

Looking into those warm honey eyes, Buddy just couldn't say that some day they would truly be enemies, both of them needing a prize that only one of them could win.

He knew Chase had a certain… talent… for changing pre-set courses in unexpected ways.

Perhaps…

Buddy leaned down.

"No. Nevermind. It doesn't matter right now."

As he softly kissed Chase's forehead, he made a mental vow to himself.

When the time for battle between them came, as he knew it would, then he'd put his trust in his nemesis.

If it were Chase…

Maybe his brat could find a way for them to both get their Happily Ever After.

But that… was a thought for the future.

"We should sleep now. The others will arrive soon."

"Okay. If you're comfy like this, you can stay there."

Buddy gave serious consideration to that, but shook his head. "There's something else I'd like to do, instead."

When Deacon arrived with the Hero and the rest of the group, he was more than a little stunned by what he found.

Chase and Buddy… The Heroine and the Villainess… were sleeping soundly, curled up in each other's arms.

As he pinched the bridge of his nose, three things ran through the Helper's mind.

Firstly, he now understood why Buddy did that action so often.

It was definitely helping to ease his oncoming headache.

Secondly, he was very glad that the storybook characters with him were seeing what they expected to see and not what he was seeing.

Just the thought of needing to explain why the Princess and the Huntress were both cuddling together while only half dressed… It was almost enough to bring on a second headache.

Finally, Deacon had a very bad feeling that his future would involve going into a lot of 'Enemies to Lovers' stories.

He might have to dip into his own private novel collection, for that.