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this evening at the hotel oj, there was a special event scheduled. that so-called event being an annual ball, — to celebrate the anniversary of the hotel’s opening — 10:00pm sharp.
fan would be getting dressed up for the ball, having acquired assistance from his great friend test tube. she would insist that she helped him get ready, having a flashy look in mind. so he accepted, not wanting to turn down such a great offer (plus, his fashion sense wasn’t vogue-worthy. at all).
“turn around- fan, let me tuck that darn shirt in!”
he’d groan in response, lifting up his arms for what, the 100th time?
“test tube, don’t you ALSO have to get ready? i'm pretty sure lightbulb would love to go with you.”
test tube would give a hearty laugh in response, waving her hand with clear amusement.
“i got experiments and breakthroughs to work on, i don’t have time for that silly dance! besides, lightbulb will be fine, she’s gonna stick with you and painty.” she then paused to take a moment, adjusting her glasses that were inching down her face. “or maybe run off, knowing her attention span that’s extremely far into the negatives.”
fan let out a hum of acknowledgement, looking down to see her finished tucking in his dress shirt, ending her careful tidy work with a quick dust off.
“there, all better!” she chirped, not taking note of fan’s slight annoyance.
“alright- now just leave my shirt alone, please. i’m sure i look presentable enough.” test tube nervously chuckled, whispering an acute apology. but before being truly finished, she’d readjust his bowtie, the one with the classic blue color and yellow spots.
fan checked himself out in the mirror, wearing a nice scarlet blazer, with a white dress shirt underneath, and some classic jet-black dress pants & shoes. oh, don’t forget the bowtie. never forget the bowtie.
he’d turn back to the green haired scientist, whose eyes sparkled insightfully. test tube would don a confident smirk, like she was indirectly saying “i'm the one who made you look that good”. he laughed a bit to himself, cogitating about that.
“thanks test tube, but i’ll take the reins from here, okay? also again…huge appreciation for taking up important time to help!”
she grinned, and patted his shoulder.
“no problem at all, my scientific studies can wait if it means helping my fellow nerd out to look stylish! now go get ‘em tiger!…or however that saying goes. hehe.”
fan waved goodbye as she left the room, deciding to sit down and wait for the party to start. he’d take the time to wonder how his partner would look, or how they’re even doing.
in another hotel room, lightbulb was the one embellishing paintbrush. yet while lightbulb was on the job, she was chattering up a storm. it took them about an hour and a half just to get prepared because of it.
“and so, do you think there would even be free food at the party? or do we got to pay. because that would be like-UNCOOL. you catch my drift painty? will it even be a good party, cuzzzz i like a good time. flashy lights and loud music!! that’s what i’d like, and i’m sure…-“
paintbrush at this point wasn’t paying much attention to anything she was saying, responding with vague “mhm”’s and “yeah”’s. it’s been countless minutes of her blabbing, complaining or questions, so they lost track of what she was even prattling on about. she lost them at nearly 10 minutes in.
“so yeah. let us hope this isn’t a huge rip off! anywhoodle, i'm done doing your hair, and i must say painty, you look snazzy!”
paintbrush would look in the nearby mirror, moderately smiling at how nicely done lightbulb slicked back their blonde locks. paintbrush always fussed about if their hair was okay or clean, so they certainly couldn’t go to a dance without styling it. well, their friend did. lightbulb noticed the growing grin on their expression, cocking an eyebrow then smirking.
“aha! you like it, don’t you? don’t youuuu?”
she would shake their shoulders to emphasize her question, to which they exhaled and rolled their eyes. “yes yes, i think it looks good enough.”
lightbulb did a pump in the air with her fists, then held out her hand so they could high-five. paintbrush delivered that high-five, fully smiling now. sometimes they couldn’t help but share some of her contagious enthusiasm.
seemingly out of nowhere, baxter crawled up onto the bed, snapping his claws with what looked like to be approval. lightbulb snickered, hoisting him up and cradling the crab.
“see? even little ol’ baxter here thinks you look too cool for school!” she put the crustacean on her shoulder, to perform a click of the tongue and finger guns. paintbrush gave an amused snort, sitting up.
compared to lightbulb’s height, paintbrush and her resembled a tree and bush beside each other. lightbulb was dolled up in a yellow dress with dark gray arm sleeves, while paintbrush’s attire was trousers, suspenders + a dress shirt, and to bring it all together, a coat. just in case it got cold.
“you ready to bedazzle-snazzle up that ball room like cinderella and her fairy godmother?“ lightbulb would quip.
“and who exaclty would be the fairy godmother in this context?”
“well me, since i dressed you up, duh! ooooohh, maybe you’ll lose a shoe and fan will find it, and-“
“okay, i get it.”
it would go hushed, before the yellow haired girl whispered loudly,
“cinderella, but they’re option c.”
this was going to be a long, dreadful hour of waiting for the party to start.
~
the dance has at last begun, residents of the hotel swarming in. paper would check off on a clipboard who attended and who was absent, while oj gave them directions to all the different activities and delicacies, et cetera.
fan got there early, — dousing himself in cologne beforehand — sitting on a chair near the food table. he’d check his watch, seeing that it was about 5 minutes into the party, yet no sign of paintbrush.
‘did they choose not to come at last minute? did something go wrong?; he’d immediately worry, beginning to go overboard on his running train of thought. that’s until he heard the loud bang of the banquet hall’s doors swinging open and slamming against the walls, plus a yell he could easily distinguish,
“DO NOT FEAR, AS WE’RE FINALLY HERE TO HYDRATE THIS DRY PARTY, MY PEOPLEEEE!!”
yep. that was lightbulb, with a very embarrassed and very heated paintbrush.
paintbrush would pull her aside and hiss; “did you REALLY have to make that whole scene? we could’ve just walked in normally, but of course, you had to…“ as they rambled on furiously, lightbulb would grab their face and redirect it towards fan’s direction.
“…just have maturity for onwwwwwoah.” paintbrush’s jaw closed quickly, admiring how well-adorned their boyfriend looked.
fan gave an awkward wave and his classic dorky grin, paintbrush waving back with awe. lightbulb smugly smiled, releasing her grip on their face and instead resting her hands on her hips.
“you’re very lucky fan was here to save you.” they would whisper crossly, trailing away. she’d wave “goodbye!” cheekily, quickly prancing off to god knows where.
as paintbrush approached him, fan took in their beauty, face growing hot. he’d quickly stand up from his spot, stuttering a bit and stuffing his hands into his pockets self-consciously. fan secretly hoped he looked that good.
“wow painty-…you look-you got-oh golly…” paintbrush tittered at his inability to form a sentence, smiling gently.
“you look handsome tonight too, fan.” fan lightly hopped on his heels, squealing and mentally freaking out.
the couple would finally take in the atmosphere encircling them. there was a dj booth, — with pickle and cheesy at the aux — a huge banner saying ‘happy anniversary!’, the snack table where lightbulb was fighting someone for the last cupcake, chairs and tables, and finally an area clear for people to dance.
“so uhhhh…what’re we gonna do?” the two of them just sort of stood there, fan being the one to break the dead silence. paintbrush shrugged genuinely, not really knowing what to do next.
they ended up taking a seat at a table. both of their hands were grazing against the others’ marginally, all the while beaming lovingly at each other. fan leaned his cheek on his right hand, abruptly grasping paintbrush’s hand with his free one. paintbrush was a bit embarrassed to be displaying such affection in public, but shrugged it off. it was much more tamer than the couples making out on the couch routinely.
“you’re looks are really killer tonight, babe. on the other hand, you always do look this attractive- but like- no kidding or anything- it’s mind blowing!” fan would be the first to make a flirty move, making their partner smile harder and avert their gaze, flushing.
paintbrush definitely wasn’t the blushy timid type when it came to occasions like this, but the sheer adorableness of their boyfriend would gain control over them at times.
“oh shut it. you saved me from murdering lightbulb because of how good you looked, be proud!”
both of them would chuckle, intertwining their fingers at last. the look in fan & paintbrushs’ eyes was screaming at the other to kiss them, spend the rest of their life with them, anything to be together in one way, shape or form. suddenly, the taller one would reach out a hand to tuck a lock of red hair behind fan’s ear, sliding down to cup his cheek.
fan knew what direction this was heading, his heartbeat quickening. they have snogged many times before of course, but every time they did, it felt like the first time they fell in love with one another. they’d both close in the gap slowly, with fan having to lean onto the table.
just as their lips were going to lock, lightbulb came dashing over, slamming her hands on the table and startling both of the lovers.
“SORRY TO INTERRUPT BUT I WANNA DANCE NOW!!! C'MON LESSSGOO!!”
paintbrush could feel their frustration boiling up anew, but fan gave them a stern, “control yourself, it’s ok” look. they’d take a deep inhale, before turning to lightbulb, trying to shove down the indignation in their eyes.
“we were in the middle of something, lighty-“
“yeah yeah, like save those sloppy kisses for later, it’s called a damn ball for a reason guys!”
fan looked at paintbrush and shrugged, clearly not holding a grudge for it.
as the group made it to the floor, typical club music could be heard from the speakers. the trio passed stares to one another, not knowing who would start moving first. lightbulb was the first, beginning to dance rather clumsily. although she didn’t consume any of the alcohol provided here for the residents, she just didn’t have the most perfect of coordination. fan laughed joyfully, starting to get into the groove of dancing too.
paintbrush decided to let loose after a motionless moment, relaxing and moving with the others. the rhythm and beat of the music drowned out everything else, everybody focusing on their foot work or next move, rather it be hips, waist, legs, arms, any body part possible.
it would be like this for a while, the three of them all having a grand time and dancing their anxieties away.
then, the music suddenly stopped, instead being replaced by the light screech of a mic, and the clearing of a throat.
“alright now, let’s switch it up a bit. couples, grab your object of desire, and hold onto each other tight— it’s slow dance time!”
cheesy’s voice would echo around the banquet hall, and a faint knee slap could be heard. the once upbeat music would fade into slow, romantic jams.
lightbulb would glance at her two friends, winking and walking away, not forgetting to shoot them finger guns.
all eyes turned to the other, both musing about the height difference. the two would start awkwardly jumbling their limbs together, murmuring “sorry”’s or “my bad”’s, giggling nervously. finally, they resolved it by paintbrush clasping their hands onto fan’s hips, and fan resting his arms around their shoulders.
the two eventually felt at ease, enjoying one another’s company and warmth, bodies pressed up onto each other. both were swaying around delicately, — with some difficulty, for fan barely knew how to slow dance — but soon enough relaxed into an intimate movement.
as the music played faintly in the background, the couple was too caught up in each others’ gazes to pay any notice to peoples’ conversations or small talk. the world had seemed to disappear, all that was left behind is just them and the lovely tunes.
many other couples, of course, were on the floor. but even then they dodged them, their motions in sync with one another. it was like they’ve been doing this for years, even though this was the first time they’ve ever slow danced.
all that took up fan’s intellect was the love for the person they were embracing so tightly, amazed by how he’d even gotten this lucky. paintbrush seemed like a hotheaded, aloof and snarky character at first glance, but inside was covertly just the sweetest, most beautiful person to have ever existed. it taught fan the lesson that not everything was as it seemed, that even his own analogies or assumptions could be inaccurate.
paintbrush was more aware of their surroundings, keeping in mind they were in an area with others, so they had to be careful while moving. although cautious, they also felt weirdly mushy right about now. butterflies infested their guts, and it was all caused by fan.
they would ponder about the days before they became so involved with one another, sharing a mutual “frenemy” relationship. paintbrush used to find fan a bit tiresome and insufferable at times with his rants, or even just some of the things he said. but they’d eventually come to love those flaws, and fall helplessly in love with the geek who carried around a dumb egg for the majority of his time in the competition.
now here they were, not wanting to release the other from their loving grasp. paintbrush clunked their foreheads together, trying desperately to compress fan closer to them, even though it was humanly impossible.
fan would suddenly murmur to them softly, “i love you.”
those simple words alone made their whole body feel weak, not being able to suppress the huge smile on their face.
“i love you too.” fan gained an affectionate grin across his expression, blush blooming on his cheeks. all because of those spoken phrases that held so much meaning.
the ball would unfortunately come to a finale, everyone saying their farewells and retreating back to their rooms.
as fan and paintbrush finished changing into more comfortable clothes once in their dorm, they snuggled up closely with each other under their shared covers, the warm, fluttery emotions never ever seeming to burn out.
fan gave paintbrush’s neck light yet tired kisses, each one making them edge closer to falling asleep. it was a therapeutic feeling, intoxicating in a positive way.
they’d start running their fingers through his soft hair as he rested his head on their chest, humming contentedly. fan and paintbrush eventually surrendered into the tenderness of rest, clutching the other, both not wanting it any other way.