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Ghoul heard the music before he saw them. A light tune floating through the otherwise-still diner. He smiled to himself, setting down the bomb he’d been wiring, and turned in his seat.
As he’d expected, Party was making his way across the dining room. He wasn’t walking like normal, but half waltzing, arms raised lightly and turning with every step as he moved toward Ghoul in an unsteady line. It was obvious he was still getting the hang of the movement, some steps bordering on the edge of a march, but he flashed Ghoul a smile over his shoulder as he spun closer and something warm blossomed in Ghoul’s chest.
He climbed out of the booth, stretched his neck, and carefully edged toward Party. The next time they turned, Ghoul slid into their space, neatly slotting himself under their arms. Party froze. Ghoul rested one hand on their hip and took their free hand in his, smiling softly as Party’s hand settled on his shoulder.
“Can I have this dance?”
“I was hoping you would,” replied Party.
With Ghoul leading, their movements smoothed somewhat. He took Party in a circle around the diner, guiding him to step in time with the music as they ranged over the sandy floor. Once, Party stumbled over a loose battery, but Ghoul turned his catch into a dip and pulled him back up to his chest with a kiss.
“My hero,” Party murmured when they separated.
Ghoul’s voice was a little rough when he tried to brush it off, “Didn’t want you taking both of us to the floor.”
They turned again, gliding across the linoleum to the tinny sound of the audio chip that Ghoul had spent a full moon coding with Kobra’s help. Party said that the way the timing worked out, it might have been an anniversary gift, but Ghoul had just wanted a way to remind them of their first proper date.
When Ghoul leaned his head onto Party’s shoulder, the steady whirring of their exhaust fan mingled with the strains of instruments he’d never seen. A private concerto just for him.
In the center of the room, Ghoul shrugged Patty’s hand off of his shoulder, pushing at his waist until he recalled the move and stepped back, twisted, ducked to spin under Ghoul’s arm. They pressed chest-to-chest for an instant, Party leaning down to steal a kiss before turning back. The whole maneuver took a handful of seconds, but it was still long enough for Ghoul to miss the solid warmth of Party in his arms.
As the song ended, Ghoul dipped Party again, then pulled them up and dropped their hand. He traced his fingers over their face, through the strands of hair that had fallen loose from their bun, cupping their jaw as he pressed up on his toes to kiss them once more. They smiled into the kiss, now resting their hands on Ghoul’s hips.
“It’s late,” Party murmured when they separated so Ghoul could breathe. “Come to bed.”
“‘M almost done,” replied Ghoul.
Another kiss. Ghoul’s eyes slipped shut as Party caught his lip between his teeth.
They let go to whisper against his skin, “Come to bed with me.”
“Yeah, okay,” Ghoul nodded. “Okay.”
Triumphant, Party reached up to tangle his fingers with Ghoul’s. Ghoul kept his free hand up for a second, swiping his thumb over Party’s bottom lip. He brought their twined hands to his mouth and kissed Party’s knuckles, holding his gaze the entire time.
With a sigh, Party’s eyes slipped shut. They dropped their forehead against Ghoul’s, then pulled back.
Now it was Party’s turn to lead. He tugged Ghoul toward their bedroom, tiptoeing past Jet and the Girl, long asleep in her room. Kobra was somewhere else, probably on the roof, so they had the bed to themselves. Party stripped his jeans off and set up his charger while Ghoul found a pair of drawstring pants and exchanged his cargoes with them. They met again on the mattress, mouths moving unhurriedly as Party traced the edges of Ghoul’s old scars. The room grew cold, desert adjusting to the hours it had been since the sun was last visible, but Ghoul pressed closer to his partner and the heat of Party’s body chased off the chill of the air.
At long last, tiredness crept up on Ghoul. He loosed a full-body yawn and Party grinned against his jaw.
“Gonna sleep now?” They asked.
“I ho—“ Another yawn. “Hope so,” finished Ghoul.
“Wake me up if,” Party let the rest of his sentence go unsaid. “Love you,” they finished instead.
“Love you, too.”
Ghoul turned, he pressed his back to Party’s chest and they shifted. They settled one hand on Ghoul’s stomach, their other one slipping into his hair. Ghoul yawned again and he felt Party kiss the back of his neck. As his eyes slid shut, Ghoul listened to Party’s exhaust fan whir quietly until he drifted off to sleep.