Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Hey, double boss, just asking for the one millionth time — why the hell are we here?”

“Tim, I am going to give you the exact same answer I always do. The Archival staff needed to have a bonding exercise, this was the only logical choice.” Elias walked ahead of Tim, not caring enough to look back at him.

“W-we’re here, aren’t we? Can’t you just accept that nothing is going to change? We should just have some fun while we’re at it,” said Martin, with a noticeable pep in his step.

“Easy for you to say, I know how much you love all this. I remember you watching Defunctland almost 24/7 back when you lived in the storage room.” 

Melanie interjected, “And Martin, aren’t you forgetting that Elias is actually evil?” Her face flushed as she continued, nearly shouting now, “Aren’t you at all suspicious that he just suddenly wanted to go to Disneyland the minute Jon got back? What if he’s planning something?”

“You know I can hear you, right?” Elias said, turning to her with a Cheshire grin, clearly enjoying the paranoia this escapade was causing.

Her jaw clenched. “Yeah, you always can, no matter what. May as well insult you directly to save time.”

The front gates beckoned, but they had to go through security first. The lines weren’t too long, as it was early on a weekday, but there still was a considerable queue to stand in. It was a series of large, green tents with tables underneath them, manned by cast members in bright yellow shirts, holding flashlights.

Melanie noticed the security. “Shit, are they going to go through our bags?”

Sasha replied, “Yeah, just for security reasons. Gotta make sure that no one brought a knife or something like that.”

“Haha, yeah, why would anyone do that?” She looked around, panicked. It wasn’t long before Georgie realized what was happening.

She looked at her girlfriend in disbelief, “Babe, are you kidding me? Did you actually bring a knife to Disneyland?”

They were getting closer to the security tables, so Melanie replied in a stage whisper.

“Yeah, well Elias is guaranteed to pull something, I need to be able to defend myself.”

Martin was in disbelief, “Wait, what? You can’t just bring a weapon to Disneyland! W-what are we gonna do? They might not let us in!”

“Yeah, Martin, it’s becoming increasingly clear that this was not the right move. God, I don’t know, do they have metal detectors?” 

Martin looked over the line in front of him.

“No, uh, they don’t. But what are you gonna do? We’re practically there.”

Melanie thought for a bit, then realized she was wearing her docs. “I mean, it’s a small knife with a blade cover. I can just tuck it somewhere on me.” She reached into her bag and grasped it. “Martin, stand in front of me so they don’t see.”

He shuffled in line a bit and obliged, being large enough to fully cover her. She tucked the knife into her sock, just in time for the security guard to take her bag.

“Thanks, I guess I owe you one.”

“No problem, anything to not get arrested.”

With that crisis averted, the rest of the group made their way through the line. Only a few of them carried bags, but they were substantially held up by Martin and Sasha. They both had decent sized backpacks full of everything anyone could possibly need to survive an apocalypse, not to mention Disneyland.

 It was a large group, as Elias made it mandatory that anyone working in the archives attended his “team bonding activity.” Obviously, some were more thrilled than others.

Martin and his boyfriend lead the group, and Jon only because Martin was pulling them quickly. They soon ended up separated from the rest of the staff, so they could no longer hear Melanie yell at Elias about Eye knows what. The entrance was designed nicely, with flowering trees scattered around the colored concrete ground. Palm trees lined the back area, towards the start of Downtown Disney. A monorail track arched overhead, and as they walked under it, a train passed by quietly. It was a welcoming environment, especially since instrumental versions of Disney songs played loud enough to be heard over the din of the park guests. The lines at the turnstiles were much shorter than security, as there were many more of them available. They joined the shortest one they could find.

Martin turned, “Jon! What do you want to do first? I was thinking we should go buy you some ears, because I think it looks strange if I’m wearing mine and you’re not wearing any.” 

“I don’t see why I need ears, I won’t have a reason to wear them after this trip.” Jon instantly knew that this was the wrong thing to say, and they didn’t need magic eye powers to figure that out.

Martin’s eyes widened. “You will have a reason! We are definitely coming back here, that is, if we’re still alive after this. They’re also good for the memories! Like what if we want to reminisce one day? We can just put on our ears and look at all the pictures we’re going to take.” His brow furrowed. “Plus, I refuse to take pictures with you if you don’t get ears.”

“Yes, yes, I know. I understand now. And I do want to take pictures with you. Those ‘Up’ ears are very nice, they compliment your outfit well.”

It pleased Martin that Jon appreciated his clothes; he put a lot of thought into what to wear today. It was the perfect opportunity to wear the yellow Mickey crewneck that he found thrifting, and his favorite green button up under it. It was also chilly enough that he could wear jeans, which meant that he didn’t have to try to find shorts. He hated shorts, so much so that he considered taking after Jon and only wearing skirts in the summer.

Speaking of Jon, they were indeed wearing one of their skirts, the plaid, knee-length one that Martin got for them last Christmas. It looked nice with their light brown button up. They also knew how much Martin liked to match color palettes, so they wore a forest green cardigan to match his button up. They didn’t tell him that, as they enjoyed keeping him guessing on some things.

“Thank you! These are limited edition ears, so I’m glad you like them.” Martin had softened at the compliment, he took their hand again.

“Yes, well, if I need ears, what should I get?”

“I’m not sure what’s in stock, but we’ll find you something.”

They reached the end of the line. Above them stood the coverings of the gates -- teal and white structures with pink trimmings. As they moved along, overly cheery cast members scanned their tickets and welcomed them to ‘The Happiest Place On Earth.’ Martin was beaming. He had been looking forward to this moment for a really long time, and it was finally here! Jon was also happy, but it wasn’t for the same reason. They were just happy to see their boyfriend’s excitement.

They walked through the turnstile and officially entered the park. Just then, Sasha called out, “Hey you two, slow down! We don’t want to get separated this early on.”

Tim was right behind her, fast approaching them. It was quite the sight to see, as Tim was wearing a Goofy hat. It had long ears that comically flapped around in the wind. 

Once they caught up to the other two, the four of them stood near the train station behind the entrance. Two tunnels were on the sides, both leading to Main Street USA. There was a lawn leading up to the station, adorned with flowers in the shape of a smiling Mickey Mouse. Other visitors took pictures in front of this, which made Martin grab his phone out to get a picture with Jon. He then remembered the rule he made, that there would be no photos until Jon had Mickey ears, so he put the phone back in his pocket.

Tim saw an opportunity to tease his friend, so he took it. “Well, Sasha, you have to understand that this is the best moment of Martin’s life, of course he’s going to be going as fast as possible.”

“You act like you’re not excited, babe. You’ve been talking about this trip just as enthusiastically as Martin.” 

“Well, I mean, I’m just looking forward to some of the rides. I don’t know everything about them like he does.” He tried to hide his enthusiasm, but it definitely wasn’t working.

“Nothing wrong with Defunctland, Tim.” Martin shouldered off his backpack to grab his water bottle. Not for him, but for Jon, who only remembers to drink water if Martin is holding it in front of them. Jon saw the hydroflask in front of him and took a sip.

Sasha touched her boyfriend’s shoulder. “I’ve seen your YouTube history, I know you watch Disney ride POVs. You can’t hide from me, Timothy.” 

The rest of their group was filing through the entrance in pairs. Melanie and Georgie were the next couple to join, then Basira and Daisy, and finally the bosses, Peter and Elias. The staff regrouped and began questioning Elias yet again.

“I still can’t wrap my head around why you wanted to come here.” Basira said to him as he opened up the park map and closely studied the attractions.

“Why wouldn’t he enjoy Disneyland, Basira? It has plenty of fear to feed off of.” Peter replied in his usual menacing, but somehow calm tone. He gazed down at his much shorter husband. 

Basira narrowed her eyes.“You know what, Peter, I don’t understand you being here even more. You’re an avatar of The Lonely, this place is full of people.” 

“You’re forgetting, crowds can work well with Forsaken. Plus, my dear husband wanted me to come, so I obliged, because I love him.” He placed a hand on Elias’ shoulder.

Martin perked up at Peter’s words “Oh you love him? Tell that to your 6 divorces.”

Elias looked to him, “Martin, we are married now, the past doesn’t matter. Also, you never know what could happen to you and Jon.” He smirked

“If you think we will ever go through as many breakups as you two, you have genuinely lost your mind.” Jon didn’t want to get involved in yet another redundant argument, but this time it was about Martin. “Also, why are you looking at the map so intently? Can’t you see everything?”

“Jon, you should know as well as I do that sometimes it’s just nice to know the way everyone else does.”

Melanie was getting fed up, “Can we all just stop talking to Elias?”

“Eventually, but I guess we should thank him for this trip first.” As much as Georgie despised Elias, she tried to calm her girlfriend down. She was just stoked to have gotten a free ticket to Disney. She didn’t even work at the Institute, yet Elias just let her tag along.

 “Don’t you mean thank Peter? We all know that Elias is a major sugar baby.” Melanie turned to him, “Thank you Mr. Lukas.” she said, voice dripping in sarcasm.

Elias glared as Peter replied, “No problem, Melanie, but please do not refer to Elias as a ‘sugar baby’ because he doesn’t enjoy that term.” Somehow he didn’t fully pick up on the sarcasm. Elias glared harder, and Melanie backed off. She didn’t want more trauma jammed into her head, not at Disneyland.

Tim was getting fidgety. “Hello, can we finally go into the park? As much as I enjoy berating our bosses, I do actually want to do Disneyland things.”

Daisy, who had been silently listening to the arguments, finally spoke up. “Yes, I agree. Let’s go.”

Martin’s eyes lit up.“Okay! Do we want to split up or go to attractions together?”

“I feel like if all of us stick together longer, there will be another murder attempt. At least I want to split off.’ Jon was still holding the water bottle, so he returned it to the backpack.

Martin wanted to spend the day with his boyfriend anyways,“You’re right. Also, we have to get you some ears!”

“Alright, we’ll meet up with everyone later. Goodbye!” Jon grabbed Martin’s hand to walk down the right-hand path.

As they left, Martin yelled out, “Bye! Try to have fun!” 

Tim looked to Sasha, who had been on her phone while the fight went down. She felt his gaze and looked up.

“You want to split off too?”

“Yeah, let’s go get a pretzel and ride Space Mountain.” Tim turned to the rest. “We’ll see all of you later, text me if you miss me too much.”

And with that, they were off in the same direction as Jon and Martin. Leaving just three couples.

Georgie tapped her girlfriend, “It looks like we’re all splitting off, so do you want to go to Haunted Mansion with me?”

Melanie let out a dry laugh.“Very funny. Ghost ride for the ghost girls.”

“Don’t act like you don’t want to.”

She shoved her park map into the pocket of her jacket. “Oh no, I definitely do. I’m excited to finally see it.”

“Hey, do you mind if we come with?” Daisy asked.

Georgie raised her eyebrows. She didn’t know Daisy that well yet, “Oh, yeah sure! The more the merrier, I guess.” 

“Oh yeah, Martin told me a bit about that ride on the flight over.” Basira joined the rest of the girls. “Let’s go.”

They headed down the left path, but not before Melanie decided to get one last word in.

“Bye you two, don’t get divorced before I have to see you again.”

Elias didn’t even look at her, “Amusing, Melanie. We will not.”

With the last of the staff gone, Peter and Elias were left scanning the rest of the park’s guests as they entered. After a moment, Peter attempted to peel Elias away from his people-watching.

“Darling, I have a question.” 

“Hmm, yes?” He was still drinking in those walking in through the gates.

“I know everyone has asked you, but why are we here?”

Elias looked up to his husband, “I’ve told you, Peter. I enjoy Disneyland. I wanted to take my employees and have a pleasant trip with you.”

“That’s it? No ritual? Nothing for the Eye?”

“Not that I know of, dear.” 

Peter was doubtful, but he didn’t try to figure out what Elias was planning. It’s hard to have private thoughts when your husband can see pretty much anything you think.

“I can see your doubt, but don’t worry dear. It’s all just for fun.”

“Hmm, alright then. I’ll try to trust you”

“Thank you. Now I actually wanted to go to Haunted Mansion, but considering those people are there, we might have to pick another ride for our first.”

“Oh, well, are there any I might like?”

“Let me see.” He took out the map again, and instantly knew where to go “You’ll adore this, there’s one about pirates. You’re in a boat for it.”

Peter lit up with joy. “Yes! That sounds nice. Should we go?”

Elias didn’t start walking, in fact, he reached into his large purse. 

“One moment, I have a surprise.”

He rifled around until he found what he was looking for.

“Here.”

Elias held out two pairs of Minnie Mouse ears. Both with a sparkly bow, but one pair was golden with little anchors on them. The other had the Haunted Mansion wallpaper design.

“Elias, you didn’t need to buy these.”

“Peter, I did. They have little anchors on them. Perfect for you. Please wear them.”

He sighed and put them on, while Elias did the same. He looked genuinely happy, not mischievous, but happy. It was a rare expression for him, so Peter was content.

“Now, let’s go make some memories, dear.”

Chapter Text

Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.

“Bye! Try to have fun!” Martin yelled out as he and Jon walked away from the group. By the time he finished the sentence, they were out of earshot from everyone. They passed under the bridge that supported the train. It was short and lined with vintage posters for rides in the park. They could hear cheery music playing from the heart of Main Street USA, currently the instrumental version of that one song that plays in Wall-E.

Jon breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad we could get away, I was worrying that some of the others might want to latch on to us.”

“Oh, yeah. Me too. Anyway, I wanted to give you a personal tour of the park.” He swung his arm, and by proxy swung Jon’s. 

The area they had just entered was a circle of road with a trolley track running along it. At the center was a flagpole, with lush trees and stylised lampposts surrounding it. The buildings on the road were all early 20th century architecture, marked with names that didn’t quite describe what they were. Overall, it resembled a vintage town square. At the back were the steps to the train station, which had well-trimmed hedges lining it. Martin was soaking in every detail as he walked alongside Jon.

“You act like you’ve been here before. Wait, have you?” Jon was genuinely asking the question. They had always assumed Martin never had the money to take a trip to the US, but his attitude about the park was making them doubt that assumption.

Martin laughed. “No, of course I haven’t. I just know a lot about it. It became a minor obsession of mine a few years ago, and this trip definitely re-awoke that.”

“Mmm, I assumed so. You’re quite the expert, so I’ll trust you can give me the best tour.” Jon looked around. “I didn’t expect it to look like this, actually.”

“The entire park doesn’t look like this, just this part. It’s called Main Street USA.”

“Oh, so it’s supposed to be the entire country’s main street?”

“I think so? I actually don’t remember what Walt Disney was going for. Probably some idealized American Dream.”

They had been walking for a while now and had reached the main stretch. Along it was buildings painted in pastels and the occasional jewel tone. They all bore names of any ‘business’ that would be in a small town. Inside, however, they sold Disney merchandise.

“Well, it seems like it’s trying to be a small American town. Very quaint.” Jon said as they took in the surrounding sights.

“Yes, very. Hey, this is where they sell the ears!” Martin pointed at a large building titled ‘Disney Showcase.’

“Oh, well, I guess we better go in?”

Martin smiled. “You’re actually serious about getting the ears?”

“Of course I am, after all, it’s for the memories .” There was sarcasm in Jon’s voice, but they were ultimately sincere. “Let’s go in.”

They entered the store, which was dense with all sorts of Disney merchandise. Matching couple’s shirts, character toys, and of course, plenty of ears. They all line the back wall, and the selection is expansive. Jon and Martin made their way through aisles, occasionally stopping to look at a novelty mug or something similar. But they didn’t entertain buying anything else, they were here for one reason only. 

There were ears representing many popular movies, even some representing attractions at the park, like the Haunted Mansion ones that Jon picked up.

Martin glanced at them. “Oh, do you like those? They’re spooky.”

“I don’t know, they’re nice but seem a little too gaudy for me.”

“Yeah, I agree. You need something more low-key.”

They continued searching through the ears. Since Jon didn’t have a favorite Disney movie like Martin, they couldn’t just figure out what to get right away. After searching for a few minutes, Martin held up a pair.

“How about these? They’re plain, but still kind of fun!” He was holding a pair of plain Mickey ears with a small wizard hat between them. It was blue with stars.

Jon raised their eyebrows. “Oh! Those are nice. What is the hat, though? Is it from something?”

“Yeah, there was this whole thing with sorcerer Mickey in an old movie called Fantasia. It’s cute, but not that popular.” He slyly smiled. “Kind of like you.”

Jon blushed, then rolled their eyes. “I agree with half of that statement.”

“Yeah, yeah, I think we’re too deep into this relationship for you to keep up with that whole ‘I’m not cute’ thing. You’re adorable, Jon.”

“Thank you, but how do you know I was talking about the cute part? What if I think I’m popular?”

“I know you don’t think that. You came out of that coma and everyone wanted nothing to do with you.” He laughed, but then his smile faltered. He still regretted how deep into The Lonely he was when Jon woke up. Everything was alright now, Peter had abandoned his plan, but the shame still lingered in Martin’s heart.

Jon took a few steps to stand next to him. “Yeah, but that’s why we’re here to bond with the team.” The sarcasm in their voice was back. “That’s why you see the entire staff spending time with us right now.”

Martin placed the Mickey ears on Jon’s head and adjusted their hair around it. They were wearing it up in a little half-up, half-down, but the part that was up was in a small bun. The small wizard hat on the ears covered up the bun nicely.

“These look good on you! I think they’re a nice choice.”

Jon looked in a nearby mirror. “Mmm, you think so? I only need your approval.”

“Yes, get them.”

Jon took off the ears and made their way to the cashier while Martin looked at some merchandise. It was a nice quality, but he knew that he couldn’t afford to get multiple souvenirs along with Disneyland food, so he didn’t get too attached to anything. He saw Jon get their ears in a small bag, so he walked over to them. They exited the store when Martin stopped.

“You have to wear them now!” He took the bag from Jon and pulled the ears out to remove the tag. “Oh, these were pretty cheap!”

Jon’s eyes widened. “$27 is cheap? I was just thinking how expensive they were…”

Martin placed the ears back on their head, “Well, I’ve heard of them going for $40, so I figure that’s on the cheap side.” He pulled a few loose strands to frame Jon’s face, and the look was complete. “Wonderful! Now I can take pictures with you!” Martin grinned.

Jon took his hand and began walking down the street. “Indeed, where would you like to take our first official Disneyland photo?”

“It’s pretty standard to take one at the castle, should we go there?”

“Sure, where is it?” They looked around.

Martin pointed to the end of the street. “Right there, not far at all.”

Jon squinted. “That’s the castle? It’s so small.”

“Yeah, I read that it’s always much smaller than everyone thinks. But it’s still magical!”

Jon smiled at him. “I’m sure it is. We’ll go there.”

They walked down the rest of the street. As it was still early, there weren’t any sizable crowds. Just small groups and other couples. The music was light and welcoming, a pleasant addition to the din of the small crowds of people. Jon and Martin were comfortable in the gaps between conversation. Most of the walk comprised of Martin looking around in wonder while Jon just looked at him. Occasionally, Martin chimed in with one of his fun facts.

“Do you notice the smell?” He asked.

Jon hadn’t, but they took a whiff. “I do now, vanilla?”

“Yeah! They actually pump the scent into the air! They have different ones for the all unique sections of the park.”
Jon’s eyes crinkled. They loved to hear about Martin’s interest. “Very immersive, that’s a nice touch.”

A few moments passed when Martin stopped Jon  and pointed to a window to a floor above one business.

“You see that lamp in that window?”

Jon looked over. “Yes?”

“That was Walt Disney’s apartment. It’s still fully furnished. They keep the lamp on in honor of him.”

“That’s nice, but wasn’t he kind of an awful person?”

Martin tilted his head. “Yeah, I guess. Very capitalistic and overall just the worst.”

“Mmm, sounds like someone we know.”

Martin looked at them with a frown. “Jon! Be careful, Elias can probably hear you.”

Jon rolled their eyes. “Yes, as Melanie said, he always can. I’m just trying not to care.”

“Understandable. You know, I think you’re onto something with Elias and Walt Disney being similar. They even look the same.” They both began walking again.

“Yes, they do. Those awful little mustaches.”

Martin laughed. “Maybe that’s why we’re here, Elias probably really relates to Walt.”

“No, I still think something strange is happening.” Jon tensed a bit. “I can’t trust anything he says anymore.”

“I think so too. Do you know if there’s anything to do about it?” Martin said, concern evident in his voice.

“No, not that I can figure out. And honestly? I would rather enjoy ourselves now. Sure, Elias might do something evil, but if I can’t stop him, then I want to have fun with my boyfriend.”

This was likely the wrong move, but Jon did not have the critical thinking skills required to realize this and Martin was too giddy to argue the point. It was true though, if Elias was actually planning something, there would be no way to foil his evil scheme. It was also hard to take any of this seriously, it still felt like an elaborate prank.

Martin looked at them lovingly. “I’m glad you want to have fun with me, even if it’ll possibly doom the world .” 

It was just a bit longer before they made it to the castle. There were flowering trees near the pathway that lead up to it, adding to the magic of it all. The front was littered with official park photographers, but most of the people taking pictures were just getting them done on their phones. 

They had entered a small line of people waiting to take pictures. Martin looked up at the castle with a twinkle in his eyes. 

“Just as magical as you expected?” Jon gazed at their boyfriend.

“Yes, but only because I’m with youuuu!” He said the last words in a sing-song, mocking voice. But Jon knew the words were true. They gave him a peck on the cheek.

They reached the front of the line. A small group of college kids stood in front of them, and one asked Martin if he would take their photos. He obliged and took plenty of different angles, even encouraged them to do all sorts of poses. The group thanked him profusely and even complimented his ‘Up’ ears, which just made him smile more. One offered to take their photos, so they walked in front of the castle. 

Jon and Martin weren’t all that great at posing, nothing like Tim and Sasha, who could basically be models with all their couple photos. But these two got by with a dorky kind of sweetness. The girl taking their pictures took after Martin and encouraged them to do a few different poses, but they all ended up just being variations on Martin with his arms wrapped around Jon. 

“Here you go!” The girl handed Martin’s phone back to him. “You two are a cute couple.”

They both blushed, and Martin smiled. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

She returned to her friends. “Have a good day!”

Jon replied, “You too!”

They looked at each other for a minute before simultaneously realizing that they were still in front of the castle, holding up the line. They hurried out of the way to a less populated path. 

“Well, now that I have my ears and we’ve taken the obligatory Disneyland Castle picture, what’s next?” asked Jon.

Martin thought for a second. “We should probably go ride some rides! Fantasyland is nearby, and it has some classic ones.”

“Sounds great, let’s go to Fantasyland.”

***

They could have gone under the castle, but they took the other route. Martin told Jon that it was a better path, and they were definitely not going to argue the point. The other entrance to Fantasyland ran closer to the large Matterhorn mountain. 

Jon slowed down and looked up. “Martin, isn’t this one a roller coaster?”

“Yeah, it is! It’s one of the oldest attractions here. They’ve redone it a few times, though. Do you want it to be our first ride?”

Jon thought. They knew Martin was wary of roller coasters after that run-in with Simon Fairchild, so they considered steering clear. 

It was as if Martin could read their mind, because he said, “Don’t worry about me and heights. Fairchild can’t get me here, I think.”

Jon unfurrowed their brow. “Oh, okay. If he is, I’ll try to smite him or something.”

“Can you smite people? I don’t actually know the extent of your Beholding powers.” 

“I’m not sure either. I don’t think I can, at least not yet.” They widened their eyes.

“Good to know. Notify me if you ever can.”

“Will do. So we’ll ride the mountain ride?”

Martin giggled. “It’s called the Matterhorn Bobsleds. And yes, let’s do it.”

They approached the gate to the ride. The line wasn’t long, but posted a 30 minute wait time. 

Martin stopped and ran a hand through his hair. “I think we should Fastpass this and go ride something else. Only if you want to though.”

“Fastpass is when you get a ticket to the ride later, right?”

“Yeah.” He pointed over to the kiosk that dispensed the passes. “It will give us a time slot to come back to.”

“That sounds good.” Jon put their hands on their hips. “You know, Martin, you’re really maximising efficiency! If you told me you would ever be this productive when we first started in the archives, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

“And if you would have told me that I would be frolicking around Disneyland with my prickly boss, I wouldn’t have believed you either. I would have probably told you to stop reading my diary.”

Jon raised their eyebrows. “Diary?”

Martin’s eyes darted back and forth. “Haha no, that was just a joke.”

They walked over and got their Fastpasses, which were small white tickets with an illustration of the Matterhorn done in blue ink. They were for the 9:40am to 10:40am time slot, which gave them about an hour before they could come back.

“Hey, we have just enough time for a small ride, do you want to find something?” Jon placed the passes into their wallet, then placed their wallet back in their skirt pocket.

“I actually already have another in mind.” Martin looked eagerly over their shoulder.

Jon turned around to look. “Oh, teacups. Yes, of course. We should ride those.”

Martin grinned, then took Jon’s hand. They joined the queue of the ride, which had a signpost stating that it was a 20 minute wait. The queue wrapped around the platform for the ride, with trees shading it. Brightly colored lanterns hung from the branches, and overall the ride area had an air of whimsy. The ride at the center was a platform with 18 giant pastel teacups, divided into 6 groups on smaller platforms. It seemed just out of the Alice and Wonderland movie, complete with a few structures resembling plants from the film.

While waiting in line, Martin described the way the ride works and when it debuted. He presumptively knew it would be a favorite because he loved the movie, not to mention his obvious love of tea. Mid-explanation, he realized something.

“Wait, Jon, I just realized that I’ve been telling you all of this when you could just Know it yourself. I’m telling you information you already know.” He deflated a bit at the thought.

Jon’s eyebrows raised. “Oh, no Martin, not at all. You forget it takes effort to Know things, and why would I need to put in effort when I have an expert right next to me?”

“Wait, it takes a lot of effort? Even the small things?”

“Yes, well, not exactly. I could if I wanted to, but I would likely have to have a statement if I tried to Know everything about the Mad Tea Party ride.” Saying this, Jon had realized they hadn’t given a proper statement or ‘fed’ in the last few days. A minor worry, but they could conceal it.

Martin’s excitement returned, hesitantly. “Oh, okay! So you’re good with me telling you what I know?”

“Yes, of course. Tell me everything.” They grabbed his hand and squeezed it, while pushing aside any worries about ‘feeding’ and statements. That was a concern for another time.

So Martin continued his lesson until the 20 minutes of waiting had passed. They walked on the platform of the ride and quickly chose one of the large teacups to sit in. It was white with blue and gold detailing around it in the shape of playing card aces. They climbed in and sat down while a cast member came by to close the door. In the middle of the cup was a turntable with arrows on it, telling them to turn this way to spin!

Jon read it. “I don’t really want to spin that fast.”

“Me neither. We can just cruise along!”

The ride started after a brief safety message, in both English and Spanish. The large platform that all the cups rested on turned, then the 3 turntables spun on their own. The instrumental to ‘A Very Merry Unbirthday to You’ played as the ride whirled and twirled. Jon and Martin both laughed, somewhat embarrassed by how much they actually enjoyed it. Martin pulled out his phone to take a photo of Jon, trying desperately to get a candid in order to capture Jon’s genuine smile. 

He was somewhat successful, ending up with a few good ones of Jon’s hair flying in the wind while they grinned, the background a blur as they spun. 

The two of them had only been in the park for an hour, but they already were having more fun than they expected. There was still a worry of Elias, of nefarious plans, of the presence of fear surrounding them, but ultimately, they were happy. Jon was especially happy. They could have never fathomed moments like this with Martin. They weren’t the type to daydream about cutesy scenarios like he was, so when things like this actually happened, it was a wonderful shock.

The ride slowed to a halt after about two minutes of spinning. Martin exited first, then reached for Jon’s hand as he knew they were more prone to dizziness than he was. They both walked off the platform and found a spot to stand outside the ride. 

“That was amazing! Our first ride at Disneyland!” Martin beamed. “And we still have a few minutes before it’s time to go to Matterhorn.”

“I’m not as dizzy as I was expecting. Maybe meeting Mike Crew made me a bit more immune to feelings of vertigo.” Jon smoothed their skirt.

“Well, good thing, because I definitely want to ride as many rides as possible. We could--”

Chimes from both phones interrupted him. It was a text from a groupchat they were in, titled ‘OG Squad.’ The text was from Tim.

 Hope you two are having fun. We definitely are XD! Wanna meet for lunch at noon?

Martin already had his phone in hand, and Jon reached for theirs but didn’t get to it before Martin told them it was just Tim.

“I don’t understand why he has to text the groupchat when he’s with Sasha and we’re together. Just text one of us.” Jon said.

Martin sighed. “You know him, it’s just a novelty. Do you want to get lunch with them, though?”

“I suppose, they’re our friends after all.”

Martin smiled. “I’m still surprised how quickly your attitude towards him changed after The Unknowing.”

“I mean, it wasn’t that quick? We were both in comas, he woke up still hating me, I woke up an avatar, and then eventually we just put aside our differences.”

Martin frowned slightly. “Yeah, I guess I wasn’t really there for all that.” He looked distant for a moment, but then snapped to it. “So I’ll say yes?”

“Yes.”

Martin texted back;

We are having fun! Lunch sounds great. How about Cafe Orleans?”

Tim must have been staring at the phone, he replied immediately.

It’s a plan! See you then :P

Martin put his phone back in his pocket and looked at Jon. 

“We have lunch plans for noon at Cafe Orleans, which is supposed to have great Mint Juleps.”

“Mmm, sounds good.” Jon looked to the Matterhorn. “It’s about time for our Fastpasses, right?”

“Yes! Let’s go ride those bobsleds!” Martin turned towards the queue entrance when Jon stopped him by putting their hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, I just wanted to tell you I’m already having a really great time. Thank you.” They blushed, sincerity was still frightening.

Martin melted. “I should be thanking you. This is already a dream come true. You do not know how many times I daydreamed about doing sweet stuff like this with you.”

“Well, I just thought I would let you know that I’m just as happy as you are.” They went on their tiptoes to kiss his nose. “Now, with that sappy business out of the way, we can actually do important things, like ride bobsleds.”

Martin laughed. “Very important indeed.”