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Danny was positive that today was going to be a glorious day. Today, February 15th, just another uneventful day right after Valentine's Day, was the day he was hoping to strengthen his romantic bond with Ryder, as well as try to safely confess to more of his and Ryder's closest friends about their blossoming relationship without risking their ire. He was more than happy that he managed to gain the trust of Ryder's pups yesterday, especially Chase, who was easily the most daunting out of all the pups, ready to pounce if anything went wrong. Ryder had thankfully stayed by his side during dinner with Mayor Goodway, practically locked in a silent staredown with the German shepherd as though he were sending messages directly to him via telepathy. Danny had been rummaging through his brain that evening, trying to concoct some way to easily earn Chase's trust, until a yawn, long and loud, snapped the redhead out of his train of thought.
"I'm getting pretty tired..." Ryder yawned out, stretching his tired limbs. "Thank you so much for treating us to dinner, Mayor Goodway. It was really-"
Danny had no idea what compelled him to scoop Ryder up the way he did. The brunette's healthy weight did not pose a burden for the daredevil's spindly frame, although holding Ryder in his arms for prolonged periods of time seemed to put a strain on his muscles. "Uh...yeah, thanks for dinner, Mayor Goodway." He said before promptly carrying his exhausted partner outside, trying to ignore the stunned looks that practically bore into his very core. "D-Danny! What are you doing?!" Ryder squeaked, beyond mortified. "When I said I was getting tired, that wasn't an invitation for you to carry me!"
Danny gave a gentle smile, letting out a strained chuckle. "S-sorry. I just thought I'd save you the trouble of walking back to your ATV. Trying to be a good boyfriend, y'know?"
Ryder blushed, his pouty expression ebbing away as he calmed down from his outburst. "Yeah...and you're doing great at it so far. It's just...could you give me a warning next time before you just pick me up like that?"
Danny deposited the brunette on the seat of his ATV, blushing as well. "Of course!"
What happened next left no time for Danny to react. Ryder snatched him by the collar of his shirt for the second time that day, tugging his upper body downwards so he was now directly face-to-face with his boyfriend. With hardly any flair, Ryder gently locked his lips with Danny's, a welcoming juxtaposition compared to the commanding strength he proudly demonstrated just seconds ago. Letting his earlier worries melt away for just a moment, Danny very eagerly accepted the kiss, hints of sugar and salt dancing on his tastebuds.
Ryder disconnected from him after a few seconds, swiping his thumb across Danny's cheek lovingly. He snorted in amusement at Danny's blushing, speechless expression. "Thanks. You know what else you're doing great at too? Being humble and trying not to draw too much attention to us. I can see you wanna take this as slowly and easily as possible, and so do I. But it looks like you could use some help getting some confidence." The sound of two heavy doors opening brought the couple's attention to the entrance of Town Hall, and there stood six smiling pups, almost each and every one of them whispering and giggling softly amongst each other, all except Chase. His amber gaze lingered intently on Danny, as if wholly focusing on the gentility the redhead sweetly bestowed onto his leader. The rest of the PAW Patrol happily trotted back to their respective vehicles, driving back to the Lookout to turn in for the night. Chase stayed behind, however, hopping expertly into his police cruiser but leaving it turned off. He seemed content enough to sit languidly in his vehicle, evidently more interested in observing Danny's actions towards Ryder, if the way his relaxed, unblinking stare tracking even the slightest of Danny's movements wasn't of any indication.
Ryder gently combed his fingers through auburn locks, quelling Danny's nerves as if by magic. The brunette gave another kiss, one now freshly pressed against his temple, and with a whisper as gentle as a spring zephyr against the shell of his ear, he whispered, "Chase doesn’t look so sour anymore. Maybe you got his trust…?” before promptly releasing his shirt from his firm grasp, allowing Danny to stand up straight again, his gaze immediately landing on the loyal German shepherd just a few feet away from him.
Danny's eyes lit up at the way Chase beamed, presumably at the show of trust he displayed by carrying Ryder to his vehicle. Chase's tail was wagging, that much the redhead could tell from the slight movements within the vehicle's seat, so that must mean he did something right to earn Chase's trust and happiness. "Wow, you must be really dedicated to being his partner if you're willing to carry him all the way out here." Chase grinned, a genuine action that held no sarcasm or scorn, much to Danny's relief. "So from now on, I’ll stop keeping such a close eye on you. I'm gonna choose to trust you. BUT if you do anything, and I mean ANYTHING at all to break his heart, I'll-"
"I think he gets the point, Chase." Ryder gets up from his ATV to try and shield Danny with his own body the best way he could despite the mammoth height difference between them. Danny appreciated the action, even if Ryder's unfortunate size meant he was still mostly exposed to the world. "He's not the same unruly kid we knew a long time ago. I-I mean, he's still a bit wild and daring," Danny chuckled nervously at the admission, "but he's clearly matured. A lot. So please, Chase, give him a chance just like Mayor Goodway and the other pups are." Chase's ears flattened against his head in a mild show of obedience, and perhaps a dash of fear, seeing as it was very rare for Ryder to ever scold his team, especially his loyal second-in-command. Ryder sighed, his stern demeanor softening. "Tell you what: if you can stop doubting Danny's capabilities and give him a chance to be a caring boyfriend, I'll go to Mr. Porter's to get you your favorite treats and you get two weeks off of cleaning duty. How does that sound?"
Chase yipped excitedly at the proposition, practically bouncing in his seat. "Aroo! That's a mighty good deal! I won't let you down, Ryder." He turned his gaze to Danny. "Please be good to Ryder, Danny. I have faith in you." And with that, he started up his police cruiser and drove back to the Lookout, excitedly anticipating those blissful two weeks. Danny chuckled lightheartedly. "A bit wild and daring, you say? Also, treats and two weeks off of cleaning duty? Jeez, do you spoil the other pups like that all the time?"
"Sh-shut up, you big dork." A heavy blush settled across Ryder's face as he puffed out his cheeks in embarrassment. Danny laughed again, hugging Ryder in adoration, giving him a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. "I looove yooouuu." He sing-songed, watching as Ryder's ill-tempered expression melted away to allow a soft smile to take its' place. It was clear he couldn't stay mad at his partner's irresistible cuteness. He sighed and relented, hugging him back. "Well, it looks like you got your confidence back. Oh, and...I love you too, Danny."
It was a massive understatement to say he had just simply regained his confidence that day. That day, he felt like he could take on the world.
He felt like he could easily clear his next biggest hurdle: Katie.
Katie was not only a very hardworking denizen of Adventure Bay, but Ryder's very first best friend. While Chase's relationship with Ryder could be intimately described as father and son in many aspects, seeing as they were very close emotionally and physically, no other close bond Ryder has with anyone else could even hold a candle to the unbreakable bond he had with the blonde, as not even Danny himself could come close. Katie's trust was not going to be easy to earn, that much Danny could anticipate with the utmost certainty. He could already imagine her heavy reluctance to accept him as Ryder's boyfriend, her glacial gaze piercing his soul. He shivered.
But he could try his luck with Katie later. He had all the time in the world to make sure everything went as perfect as humanly possible; he wasn't willing to squander his chance to impress upon her the fact that he would love and protect Ryder until the end of time. As of right now, his current goal was to treat Ryder to a delicious dessert at Mr. Porter's cafe, and perhaps see if there was anything new and interesting to talk about during their time there.
First he drove over to the Lookout, almost one hundred percent positive the brunette would be there, playing with the pups or tuning up his ATV. He parked his trusty tricycle just in front of the garage, frowning at the lack of the colorful vest, beautiful spiky brown hair and caramel brown eyes he was so accustomed to seeing laying back-first on the wheeled slab of metal, dexterous hands improving his ATV alongside Rocky. He went up to the lush green yard that surrounded the giant tower, hoping he'd have better luck spotting Ryder there. While he did see several colorful vests playing in the yard, none of them belonged to his newest partner. Instead they belonged to Ryder's loyal PAW Patrol, having all the fun they could ever have by playing out various imaginative scenarios or playing simplistic, childish games like follow the leader or hide and seek. Ironically enough, he found them playing Ryder Says, a game very blatantly emulating the same rules as Simon Says, but with their leader's name used as the verbal cue to perform various actions.
"Ryder says..." Skye drags the last syllable for a moment, smiling mischievously as she let the suspense settle in before she said anything else, "hop on one paw!"
And they did just that, hopping on one paw. Marshall seemed to falter in his movements after a second of hopping, clumsily falling onto his stomach with a thud. The other pups chuckled softly at the Dalmatian's misfortune, with Marshall following suit, chuckling along with them. Then he looked over at the cockapoo, worry creasing his visage just slightly. "Uhh...so does this mean I'm disqualified from the game now?" He asked rather disappointedly.
Skye hummed in thought. "Well...you did hop on one paw when Ryder said so, sooo...how about we say you're still in the game until you mess up at the parts where Ryder doesn't say anything, 'kay?" Marshall's ears perked up in happiness at Skye's generosity, a giant grin spreading across his snout. "Awesome! I'm still in!" He barked ecstatically, his tail wagging as he sat down with his teammates, waiting for the next command from their nonexistent leader. Skye cleared her throat. "Okay. Ryder says twirl!" And so they twirled in place, with Marshall doing his best to maintain his balance.
Danny walked over to the playful dogs, waving his hand to greet them. "Hey guys, how's it go-"
Marshall, in his best attempt to keep one paw on the ground as he twirled, ended up twirling away from the rest of his crew and straight into the unsuspecting redhead, knocking him over and onto the soft green grass below. Both Danny and Marshall groaned in discomfort as they laid on the ground, waiting for their temporary dizziness to disappear. Danny cradled his head in the palm of his hand for a moment, closing his eyes as he let the exploding galaxy of stars in his vision wither away into nothingness before sitting up and recollecting his thoughts. Marshall, shaking his head to get some feeling back into his skull, giggled as let the unfortunate situation process in his brain. "Heh. Sorry, Danny. I guess I'm on a bit of a clumsiness streak today."
"Yep. I can tell." A softer groan passed through Danny's lips as the twinkling nebulae finally disappeared from his vision, letting him see properly again. He got up from the grass, wiping away any soil or blades of grass that stuck to his clothing with a brush of his hands. "Anyway, uh...first things first. How's everything here at the Lookout? Everything peachy?"
Chase trotted over to Danny, smiling up at him as he gave him the best greeting salute he could offer with his front paw. "Good afternoon, Danny. Everything's just fine here. Just playing Ryder Says. Oh, speaking of which, have you seen Ryder at all? We haven't seen him all day."
A flash of concern creased Danny's features. "I...no? I actually came to ask where he was too, but I guess if you guys don't know where he is, then-"
"Eh. Don't worry 'bout it." Danny was taken aback by Chase's response, confused and conflicted by how nonchalant Chase was at Ryder's mysterious whereabouts. "Seriously, don't worry. If Ryder was ever in danger, he'd call us immediately. He knows better than to handle stuff on his own. But if I had to guess where Ryder was, I'd bet my badge he's with Cap'n Turbot. He does mention he hasn't been fishing a lot with him very often, so it'd be logical to think that he's over by the dock fishing with him, or something like that."
Danny nodded. "Alrighty then. Have fun, guys! Bye!" After waving goodbye to the joyful pups, he made a mad dash to get back to his tricycle, eager to meet up with Ryder and finally treat him to the dessert he deserves.
"Bye!" Everyone said in unison, before resuming their game. Skye cleared her throat once again. "Say 'Ryder needs us!'"
"Ryder needs us!" It was simply pure instinct to yell those three words in anticipation of a mission every time, and everyone groaned in disappointment when they realized their cue word had not been said prior to the verbal action. Everyone except Marshall, who had been quick-witted enough to spot the well-hidden flaw in Skye's clever bout of trickery. The Dalmatian howled triumphantly. "Yes! I won!"
Everyone proudly expressed their congratulations to the victorious pup, howling alongside him.
The strong stench of seaweed and raw fish had Danny's stomach somersaulting as he approached the Flounder, the old yellow and purple boat gleaming as the sun reflected off its' freshly washed surface, looking just as shiny as the day he had first laid eyes on it all those years ago, ever since he had first set foot on Adventure Bay's soil with his family in tow. Those had been wondrous, curious times, but now was not the time to reminisce; Ryder was out in Adventure Bay somewhere, and Cap'n Turbot was his next lead on the brunette's whereabouts.
He found the jolly glasses-wearing sailor throwing fish of various sizes to his large mammalian companion Wally, a friendly walrus who was never afraid to say hello or to request a quick snack right before his feeding time. Cap'n Turbot threw the last fish out to the gluttonous walrus, wiping away the sweat from his brow as he heaved a great sigh of relief, thankful to have Wally's lunch time over with. "Phew! Ha, always hungry as ever, Wally, old pal!" He chuckled, grimacing in pain as he pushed his hands against his back, straightening it with a satisfying crack. "Oof! Any more of this, and I might just have to chuck the entire bucket instead. My back's starting to kill me." Even at the healthy age of thirty-eight, years of performing various bodily movements that put incomprehensible stress on his muscles seemed to take its' toll on him in the form of mild aches and occasional stiffness. Nothing a good massage and perhaps a few visits to the chiropractor couldn't cure or assuage, but something to at least keep a close eye on, just in case anything particularly worrying came up out of the blue.
"Hey Cap'n Turbot!" Danny called out, his chipper voice bringing the poor captain out of his painful haze and back into reality. The seafaring captain turned around to greet his unexpected visitor, smiling when the familiar messy red hair and freckled countenance registered in his mind. "Well, hello there, Daring Danny X. Pleased as punch to see you again after all this time. Have you been up to anything daring?" Cap'n Turbot emulated the iconic X Danny used to do just a year ago with his arms, frowning just slightly when Danny did not copy the endearing action with any sort of vigor. Instead, a look of embarrassment covered the teenager's face, a very pale shade of pink covering his cheeks as he acknowledged the humorous gesture with a nervous laugh. "Heh...uh, please just call me Danny. And I haven't really been up to anything, just kinda...hanging around, I guess. Anyways, I wish I was here to catch up with you and stuff, but that's not why I'm here. I just wanna know if you know where Ryder is."
Wide brown eyes blinked, confused and mildly concerned about Danny's sudden change in behavior. It felt like yesterday when Danny would recklessly perform deadly stunts, getting through it all with only so much as a scraped knee and a thorough scolding, especially from Ryder. While it was nice to see some humility from the daredevil, the sailor did find himself missing the risky bravery he used to exhibit so freely, regardless of what anyone else thought.
Danny blinked back up at him, and he realized they had just been standing in awkward silence, the redhead awaiting the captain's answer. "Oh! Uh, yeah, Ryder..." He began racking his brain for any memory that could provide an accurate location to the brunette, only to turn up with nothing but memories of his most recent rescue. "Hm...nope. 'Fraid I can't help you with that, Daring- I mean, Danny."
Danny sighed, disappointed that his latest lead ended up going nowhere. Cap'n Turbot perked up after a moment of contemplation, however. "Why don't you try ringing Ryder? I anticipate he'll answer real fast."
His eyes widened at the suggestion, thankful for the sea-loving sailor and his quick line of thinking. He pulled out his phone, clicking on his lover's name once it appeared on his phone application, and simply waited.
Brrrring.
And waited.
Brrrring.
And waited.
Brrrring.
And waited.
Brrrr-
And waited until the fourth irritating ring that he decided to end the attempted call, shoving his phone back into his back pocket. He swallowed the anxious lump building up in his throat, immediately thinking the worst. It was very unlike Ryder to ignore a call, regardless if it was an emergency or not. "Huh..." Cap'n Turbot mused, "wasn't expecting that. Must be really busy with something."
"Or in serious danger! I have to find him now!" His panicked outcry frightened the oceanic avians perched on top of the Flounder, causing them to fly away, terrified shrieks and squawks filling the air. He had no time to apologize for the disturbance, unfortunately. He had a new mission: find Ryder as soon as possible, no matter what.
He considered calling the PAW Patrol for a moment, but then Chase's nonchalant words rang painfully in his head, each word souring rapidly the more he thought about it.
"If Ryder was ever in danger, he'd call us immediately."
Chase was usually right. He seldom was ever erroneous with his claims, but that didn't stop that sharp pang of doubt from tugging relentlessly at his mind. At his heart. The German shepherd was still young, susceptible to naivety, unwavering in his innocent belief that Ryder would call the PAW Patrol should his situation go south. And yet, there was still a very real, very potentially hazardous chance the brunette may not have his phone on his person, and would never be able to get in contact with his team if he ever found himself in peril. Danny, only a whole single day into his relationship with such a wonderful person, did not want to take that chance. Treating him to a dessert date at Mr. Porter's was no longer of the utmost importance; right now, he needed to find Ryder as soon as possible and make sure he was safe.
"Thanks for trying to help anyway, Cap'n! See you later!" He said, hopping back onto his tricycle and practically slamming his foot on the gas pedal, his panic quick to settle in as he drove away, his heart ricocheting frantically within his ribcage, thoughts racing with an endless amount of dangerous situations Ryder could be in right now.
Cap'n Turbot, too stunned to try to comfort Danny before he departed just as quickly as he had arrived, could only utter, "Uhh...you're welcome?" But Danny was long gone before he could respond. He sighed. “There are definitely a lot of things going on with that young lad."
Today was not shaping up to be the spectacular day he was hoping it'd be. Instead of delicious sweets and the sugary sweet smile of Ryder as they conversed, Danny had found himself driving all over town, even driving all the way to Jake's Mountain and Yumi's farm at one point. He had talked to everyone he knew, praying they knew exactly where Ryder was.
The situation was beginning to grow more and more distressful as he searched. Jake and Everest had no clue on Ryder's whereabouts, and even offered to help search for him, much to the redhead's delight as he accepted the offer without hesitation. Yumi and her husband Al had no idea either, but told him they'd make sure to keep a close eye around their farm for any sign of the brunette. Then he went to Mr. Porter's humble cafe, unsurprised when his quick visit there proved fruitless. He didn't bother trying to ask Alex about Ryder, not wanting to put the 13-year-old in any sort of stress upon realizing his idol had gone missing.
He had talked to just about everyone he knew in Adventure Bay and its' neighboring sectors. Everyone but Katie.
He swallowed the lump in his throat for the second time today, nervous sweat streaming down his face at the mere thought of asking Katie about the missing teenager. He knew that he could trust Katie to search endlessly for Ryder until the Earth was nothing more than an apocalyptic wasteland from her wrath, but that wasn't exactly the issue. He was more worried that Katie would misunderstand the situation and think he had put her best friend in danger, and reasonably so, given Danny's past track record regarding his stunts. The absolute last thing he wanted, aside from finding a helpless Ryder somewhere, was invoking Katie's anger upon himself.
But when time was of the essence and he was running out of options, he had no choice but to shove his anxiety to the recesses of his mind and pray Katie knew about Ryder's exact location. He didn't believe Ryder could possibly be in Adventure City or the jungle, seeing as Ryder had no reason to be in either area. So, with all the information he's accumulated in mind, he exhaled shakily, driving to Katie's pet parlor, the one place he didn't want to be at until he was fully confident Katie wouldn't try to kill him. But he had to take that chance, all for Ryder's sake.
He hopped off his tricycle, placing his helmet back on the left side of the steering handle before running right into the pet shop, straight towards the desk. Katie was there, brushing her cat Cali up until the sound of Danny's panicked footsteps put the cowardly feline into a frenzy, yowling and scampering wildly around the desktop until she sprinted into one of the many holes of the nearby cat tower, shivering profusely in fear. Katie yelped in alarm, almost dropping the brush as she set her sky blue gaze on the hysteric redhead. "Jesus Christ, Danny! Try walking in here next time! You almost gave me a heart attack!" She held her hand flat against her chest, just above her heart, trying to recollect her breath and her composure.
Danny allowed himself to recollect his own composure, breathing in and out slowly before briskly getting straight to the point. "Okay, listen, I'm really sorry for barging in here so suddenly, and I don't want to worry you too much," The traitorous lump returned, halting his speech momentarily. He swallowed it back down, and continued, "but I really need help finding-"
A loud thud resounded from the back of the parlor, causing a curious Danny to look over Katie's shoulder for the origin of the unexpected noise, finding a shampoo bottle lying on the floor. He looked up to the shelves next, where the bottle should've been, seeing a strange shadowy figure crouched uncomfortably between the shelf it rested on and the ceiling. The figure seemed to be searching for something, if the way it shifted constantly from shelf to shelf wasn't of any indication. Danny noted how the shape of the figure appeared vaguely human, yet rested periodically on the shelves like a cat with its' limbs tucked beneath its' fluffy stomach. He walked closer to the unidentifiable figure, trying to discern who it was.
As he made his way towards the shelves, the shadows slowly dissipated to gave way to several distinguishable features, the first of which being a very familiar vest. A myriad of colors embellished the cottony soft clothing item, adding to the familiarity. Soft spiky brown hair scraped the ceiling, a few long strands falling into the figure’s face. Gentle caramel brown eyes drifted towards the redhead curiously, a small, familiarly warm smile gracing their face.
Simply laying his eyes upon the figure’s unblemished sun-tanned skin next gave Danny enough evidence to verify their identity unequivocally. Ryder was right above him, crawling from one shelf to the other for some mysterious reason, and he felt like he could weep in relief, but refrained. Katie was right behind him, looking as if she had just remembered something previously forgotten.
"Uh- I'm pretty sure I was supposed to-" She abruptly stopped herself, clearing her throat before speaking. "Oh, no, that's not Ryder. That's Ryan, my new...uh, employee..."
The sound of Ryder facepalming resonated throughout the shop, followed by him groaning in disbelief. "Could you be anymore sarcastic and obvious?"
"Ryder, you stick out like a sore thumb. There's, like, no way to disguise you properly around here. Besides, that whole 'he's just my new employee' bit wouldn't have worked out, anyway. You look too suspicious crawling around up there like that."
"I'd stop and behave more employee-like if you just showed me where the cookies are. I looked in that cookie jar and it was empty."
Katie smirked. "Oh, I wonder why. Maybe it's 'cause I stopped baking them around six years ago."
"I-wait, what!?" Ryder exclaimed dramatically at the unfortunate revelation.
"Yup. I figured if I couldn't find a way to stop you from stealing my cookies all the time, I'd just stop making them entirely. I'm a bit disappointed you didn't find that out six years ago, but I guess you were just really busy with missions and stuff. Better late than never, I suppose." Katie chuckled triumphantly at Ryder's vexed expression, big brown eyes boring holes into the blonde as he stuck his tongue out indignantly at her. "Why don't you try raiding Mayor Humdinger's lair for cookies or something? I'm sure a guy like him has plenty of sweets lying around somewhere."
"Nuh-uh. Too far away."
"Okay, then try raiding Mr. Porter's cafe. That place is packed with sweets, and it's much closer."
"Too expensive." Ryder argued back, crossing his arms the best he could with how limited his movement was between the ceiling and the shelf he laid on.
"Oh my God..." Katie sighed exasperatedly. "You are impossible to deal with sometimes, you know that?”
"Well, let me put it this way: when you have to take care of six dogs most of the time, you start to realize just how quickly your money drains from your wallet. Why do you think I work for you part-time sometimes? It wasn't just because I love animals, I'll tell you that."
Katie opened her mouth, but couldn't find any valid argument to invalidate Ryder's. "I...actually, yeah, that's a pretty good point."
Danny, unsure of what to say to make his presence known or to stop the argument peacefully, very slowly stepped away from the bickering duo, hoping to leave them be without getting caught in the verbal crossfire. He had found Ryder safe and sound, and that was all that mattered. He can wait outside until the two of them calmed down enough to talk civilly, and right after wanted to see if he could still convince Ryder to go to the cafe in spite of it’s inordinate prices. Anything Ryder could ever want from there would be paid by Danny, of course. All the money he's ever accumulated from years of donations from his fans tuning in to watch his stunt videos, and from the help of a very hesitant Avery finally getting him his very own debit card after days of persistence and constant persuasion, should be able to make that all work out just fine.
"Oh, right. Danny." Katie cleared her throat, gaining Danny's full attention before he could even reach the mechanical glass doors. "I think he was trying to find you earlier. I’m not sure why, but he looked pretty panicked about it."
"Of course I was panicking!" Danny confirmed, dismayed by Katie's nonchalance by that very fact. "I was looking all over Adventure Bay for you, Ryder! I tried calling you earlier, but you never answered! I was worried sick!"
Instead of the concern he was expecting, Ryder burst out into a boisterous fit of laughter. He calmed himself down after a few seconds, giving Danny an apologetic look. "Okay, I'm sorry for reacting like that, but I couldn't help myself. I didn't think you'd get so worked up trying to look for me. And about trying to call me...uh, I might've had my phone on silent. Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, I didn't miss something important, did I?"
"Well...no, not really." Danny scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was hoping you'd be up for some dessert at the cafe, but it looks like you're busy with other things, so I'll just-"
Ryder hopped down from the creaking shelf, landing right in front of Danny and wrapping him in a warm, comforting embrace. "Nuh-uh. Nope. We're going to the cafe if it means you'll be happy and not stressed out." He asserted, hugging the redhead tighter. "'Sides, I could definitely go for an apple-flavored cupcake right about now." He briefly turned his gaze to Katie. "The cookies were soooo six years ago, anyway." He bitterly spat, sticking his tongue out at her resentfully again.
Katie wisely chose not to provoke the shorter teenager any further than necessary, electing to just roll her eyes dismissively. There were more pressing matters that needed to be addressed, after all. "After your little date with Danny is over, you're immediately coming back here so we can have a nice, long talk." She crossed her arms over her chest, her piercing blue eyes glaring directly at Ryder.
The brunette shivered slightly in response to Katie’s stern tone, beads of nervous sweat sliding down his face. "Yep, mhm, okay. I'll be back by around, oh, I dunno...actually, does tomorrow sound okay for our conversation? Maybe two days? A week?" It was obvious Ryder was trying to delay the inevitable scolding, and Katie, unamused with his antics, scrunched her face up in anger.
"Immediately after your date." Katie refrained from yelling out her response, her tone letting Ryder know her decision was final. "And if you don't get back here by two, I'll find you myself and have you clean the shop for a whole month. Without payment."
Ryder groaned dramatically. "Ugh! Fine!" Danny found it rather amusing to watch his boyfriend act more rebellious when he wasn't being the kind, wonderful leader he usually was. Growing up was tough for most people, but Ryder seemed to suffer from it in a way that made his personality shift exponentially to accommodate the influx of new, volatile emotions and behavioral patterns. If truth be told, Ryder did always have those lingering negative emotions follow him all the way from his childhood to his teenage years, but they were always suppressed by his naive optimism and joy. Now, at the responsible young age of eighteen years old and starting to grow more and more unhinged from constantly trying to keep his emotions at bay, the mental dam that once held those negative emotions was slowly cracking, allowing the negativity to leak out, drop by miserable drop.
But there was always time for emotional improvement, and the best way to jumpstart Ryders' was to take him out to the cafe and buy him a nice, painless treat. Ryder grabbed Danny's hand gently, leading him to the glass doors. "Come on, Danny. Let's-"
The sound of the doors opening, followed by a familiar giant purple-clad figure strutting into the parlor with six pompous cats in tow caught Ryder off guard. Both of their attention was locked onto the rotund man as he surveyed his surroundings with his nose pointed arrogantly into the air, his shrill, nasally voice piercing the air as he announced the reason for his sudden arrival. "Alright, Katie, I'm here to-"
Mayor Humdinger turned his attention to Ryder and Danny, his words trailing off as he tried to process the unexpected scene before him. He rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again for good measure, wanting to make sure he wasn't hallucinating them holding hands rather intimately. "Oh great, now they're a couple." He grumbled, his tone sounding more observant than bigoted. "You know what? We're rescheduling your grooming sessions to tomorrow, kitties. It seems some people can't keep their mushy lovey-dovey moments to themselves." He harrumphed, turning around and walking out of the parlor, his testy felines mewling in disappointment as they followed the top hat-wearing man back to Foggy Bottom.
Ryder's eyes widened to a comical degree, his face practically sizzling with the overwhelming warmth that blossomed on his cheeks. Danny simply stood next to him, mildly confused. "Uhh...we're just holding hands?"
Ryder's gaze snapped up at his clueless boyfriend, a mixture of relief and disbelief washing over him. "Mayor Humdinger was...just being dramatic." He elucidated to the innocent redhead. "I mean, he probably doesn’t have much experience with romance and anything associated with it. Kiiinda makes me feel sorry for him in a way."
Danny nodded in understanding. "Right. Uh...you still want to go to the cafe? I'll pay."
Ryder decided not to argue with Danny's generosity, hoping to keep as much money as possible to provide for his pups. "Yeah. Let's go."
Katie watched them leave the parlor, a small smile plastered onto her face. She held her gaze on Danny for a little bit longer, thinking to herself how closely he resembled his older sister Avery Sorensen in this very moment. Soft, sweet and thoughtful. Those three words perfectly encapsulated the pilot’s demeanor back when she first dated Katie, an experience the pet groomer would never forget for as long as she lived. Everything had gone so well, their personalities and interests interweaving like threads weaving together to form a silky soft tapestry, all until the shorter redhead said those enigmatic words.
”Listen, I love the time we spent together. Really, I do. This has been the best date I’ve ever been on, especially with someone like you. But…I need some time to think. This whole romance thing with you just feels like something I need to ponder over, y’know? I promise I’ll get back to you once I’ve made a decision. For now, let’s just keep being friends. Nothing personal, ‘kay? I’ll see you around, Katie.”
Her smile fell upon recalling the unsatisfying ending to their date. Her heart throbbed in yearning as watery hints of tears pricked the corners of her eyes.
She sighed longingly. "I miss you so much, Ace.”