Zaid flushed at the image of ice skating with Jude, but was also really tempted to consider it. He wasn’t sure who would fall over more, but the concept was not bad. ”You have good ideas. I should really ask Jude to go with me sometime...” they didn’t have the dogs to walk now so a different outing idea would be beneficial.

Zaid listener to the list of comics and his grin broadened. ”I’m reading some of those too! Also, Burning the Tiger is so cute! I should show you it sometime, if you want. I don’t have any friends who share my taste in reading material!” he wondered if he sounded too excited. He munched on his sandwich to downplay the rush of enthusiasm.

Suddenly she declared something and the word seemed to flicker slowly through Zaid’s brain. lightweight. ”I mean I guess I’m not that heavy for a guy but, bunny genes...”

She snagged his drink and he blinked in surprise. ”Wait I wasn’t d....vodka? Oh, stars.” THAT type of lightweight!

Uh, food. Food was important. He ate another sandwich but could already feel the pleasant warmth traveling through his throat and ears. He was trying to remember why this was a bad thing. ”How much vodka would you guess?”

You know, she might have been shocked to have someone she'd just met casually inviting her over to show her his manga collection who wasn't trying to get into her pants, if she hadn't met Xavier first. Since meeting that tall, blonde doofus who had so boldly declared that she was a nice person, it had been hard to get the notion out of her head.

Maybe she was? Maybe that was why she was jiving so well with an equally nice, buzzed bunny man who she'd just met?

Why the heck not! "Sure! Maybe you can introduce me to a few new ones too. I tend to get sucked into little circles of similar stuff without realizing it. I haven't read this Tiger one yet."

Oh Jesus Christ, he was too @#$%in adorable with alcohol in him. He thought she meant his weight? Juniper found herself cackling at him again, until it finally clicked what she had meant. His reaction was priceless.

She swirled the cup still in her hand and gave it a sip. "Hm... probably a shot or two. I can't tell if there is anything else mixed in. Sometimes people are boring and only use vodka, sometimes people spice it up by adding a fruity liquor in with it."

She downed the rest of it, even though it had been his, and set the empty cup down.

"What we need to do now is find you some water, or anything else that isn't alcoholic."

Juniper patted him on the arm gently, offering a very rare smile with nothing devious behind it. "You're safe with me though. I'm a pro at taking care of drunk people. I won't let anything happen to ya."

Across the room, she spotted a large bucket on a table that appeared to have small bottles of water in it. "Over there!" She reached out to snag one of his wrists and tug the soon-to-be-drunk along with her to make sure he got some water in him. Hydration was key, yo!

Halfway across the dance floor the lights cut out suddenly, and the supposed DJ started shouting about how it was... rave time?

...What?

Then then there were suddenly glow lights everywhere as as few of those waiters she had seen before rushed around passing out glow sticks and necklaces. She was briefly started, and then elated. She'd always wanted to go to a rave! Maybe not some weird mashup of a Victorian rave, but whatever!

She glanced as Zaid as the lights came back on, though a lit dimmer, and laughed as she cracked one of her glow sticks and shook it.

"When in Rome?!"

Juniper laughed at him again and Zaid was failing to understand what was so humorous. Was it his ears? His face? The mask? He let himself be dragged on the hunt for water, figuring Juniper knew best.

”I have some print copies but they got boxed up in the move. I also tried not to scare my boyfriend with too much manga all at once. We are remodeling and I swear every time I turn around there is something funny about this house—-oooo, glows sticks!”

He took a blue one and clicked it, eyes lightening up as he waved it. He giggled, then tried to cover his mouth to stop himself, and laughed again. ”Stars, what type of disco did you drag me to?” the music playing was too hard to resist though. When in Rome, you danced, apparently! A tipsy bunny was a damn good dancer, at least. A few rather hungry looking ladies seemed to eyeball him, but Juniper was a great friend by not allowing them to prey on his little drunk tail.

Food. They were looking for food, right? Or was it water? Boooo they were looking for daaaaancing clearly.

"I dunno! The blurb didn't mention any of this!" She cackled back, stringing together a few of the smaller glow sticks so that she could make a necklace. "I'm not complaining, though!"

Oh no, Zaid was a dancer! That compelled her to try and dance as well, and holy @#$% she didn't dance. Where was the alcohol again!?

Surprisingly, his exuberance was infectious and she suddenly found herself copying his moves as best she could, while flailing around her little light sticks with as much flare as she could muster.

There were certainly quite a few women, and men, who were eyeballing the bunny. Some in pairs, even! She purposefully ended up blocking many a view from him, some with terrible faces and others with a few flipped birds. If there was one thing Juniper could be great at, it was pretending to be a possessive and jealous partner when the need arose. Heck, she'd already told Xavier that if he ever needed someone chased off all he had to do was text her and she'd march on over and law down the law.

This time, it just happened to be a really nice fellow with fuzzy ears.

"At least dance yourself closer to that table with water on it! If you don't keep hydrated you'll end up with a hangover tomorrow and those are never any fun!"

Zaid was feeling the second cup of punch kicking in, the warmth keeping his ears at a happy droop, a pleasant pink to his face. His silver hair was glowing with the light from the black lights and his blue glow stick was soon combined with a few more to make a neon headband. He wore it like a crown atop his floppy ears.

Zaid felt fierce. He felt sassy and Juniper was also feeling the fierce! The Cupid Shuffle came on and he was alllll for dancing with that one too.

Dance closer to water? ”Nooo, the lyrics say ‘to the left, to the left’!” Zaid tried to convince her to follow along with the instructions. It was an easy song for her to participate in, so he thought it made sense for her to try. He was probably a bit too enthusiastic on some of the motions but heck, it was a rave!

Somehow she managed to steer him to the table (magic?!) where the water was. He took a gulp from one of the bottles, realizing he was actually pretty thirsty now from the dancing.

Oh...

Oh god this was actually happening. They were doing the cupid shuffle and she was going along with it!? Everyone was, Victorian dresses and all!

She was laughing like a lunatic, following along with the moves that Zaid seemed to have broken out of absolutely nowhere, though she wasn't nearly as smooth as him with them. They went to the left, the left, and to the right, the right. There was also some front and back or something of that nature, and gradually she was able to herd the both of them in the direction of water.

Holy @#$%, she needed some water too, after all of that moving around like a fish out of water. "Where on earth did you learn to dance like that?!"

Zaid paused mid-drink as he tried to process the question posed at him. It felt like the little hamster in his brain was run-run-running in the wheel trying to keep up. Was it a hamster? Maybe it was a bunny. Did bunnies run on wheels? Probably not, that would explain why the bunny in his head was struggling to keep up. It didn't belong in a hamster wheel.

Focus. Dancing. Yes. "Viewtube. I uh, I watched a bunch of videos one summer. Someone told me that dancing was good to help with your mood? I mean, you dance, and exercise, and it cheers you up. It had been a bad year, so I danced a lot."

He laughed a little at how that probably sounded to a stranger. He could remember standing in his living room trying to follow the moves off his computer screen and bumping into each wall of his tiny apartment. That must have been awful for his neighbors to put up with.

"I also played a bunch of Dance Mania, but that is really only squares on the ground, and there aren't many dances you do in a box. Surprisingly, square dances don't stay in a box." Way to loose focus, Zaid. He took another drink, feeling like he was fighting through a very dense fog.

"You know where they have some great dance parties? Comicon! We should go sometime," he gushed. His headband moved lower and the glowing lights caught his attention. He giggled. "You know, these remind me of that video game character, the fairy? Heeeey lissssteeeeennnn. Oooo! Chocolate!"

Someone had turned on a fondue fountain in the middle of the rave. Because chocolate in the dark was not a terrible idea at all. Several of the more well dressed individuals seemed to be opposed to the very idea. Another song started, and Zaid's ears perked the other direction.

Chocolate, dancing. Choices.

"Man, i'm only brave enough usually to dance in my apartment where no one can see me."

Which, kinda made the fact that she was flailing about and dropping moves with brand new friend kind weird, didn't it? He had an infectious energy about him that just kinda got into you, just like Xavier did. A different flavor, maybe, but certainly that same energy.

"We weren't allowed to have video games in my house growing up, so I never got to play any of those dancing games until it it was lame for people my age to try and play them." Heck, she hadn't even known that video games existed for quite a few years, since her parents hadn't believed in most forms of technology besides the internet.

"Duuuude, I would love to go to a con. They never had any going in the places I lived before and I just didn't have time to travel out to any of the big ones!"

What on earth would she dress up as, though? She wasn't big into dressed and such, or cosplays that showed a lot of skin. It just was't her cup of tea.

"Who do you go to cons as? I have no idea what character I would go as." She laughed at his impression, even if she didn't have a single clue what exactly he was talking about.

Her head whipped around at the mention of chocolate, and then a different song.

Jesus christ, Juniper needed another drink... or three.

"Be right back!"

She hightailed it back over to the table with punch as fast as possible, skirting around a few large skirts, and proceeded to down a few of those cups of punch as fast as she could. She was going to need some serious liquid bravery if more dancing was going to be involved, especially anything harder than the one she had just tried to learn... and poorly at that.

She snagged two more flutes of champagne on the way back over, and those were empty and quickly abandoned by the time she got back to Zaid's side. By that time the song was winding down and shifting to something else she had found him again and was feeling... pretty great, actually.

"Fonduuuue!" Was.... Was that 'I believe in a thing called love' that was starting to play? Heck, how was she supposed to dance to that?!

Juniper wasn't allowed video games. Zaid felt so upset by that, his ears went flat and his eyes got big, like he would burst into tears. But, he wouldn't They were at a party. And there was dancing. And chocolate!

"That's so meaaaaan. You can always play video games with me! They are the best! Jude wouldn't mind, probably. But, I haven't introduced you two yet...Jude looks sooooo cute when he gets bunny ears!" Zaid gushed. He didn't explain how, exactly, Jude seemed to get the ears, but his face was pink just at the mental image.

What did he dress as? Zaid blushed, and smirked, and looked sheepish. "I...go as Officer Hopps. You know, bunny cop, long ears? She is the coolest! And, people like my ears. Cross-play happens a lot in cons," he said. He hummed to himself, wondering if he should go as her again, or find another cool bunny to be. "Maybe the Easter bunny next? But I don't have tattoos.... And I'm not that tough..."

While he was talking, Juniper snuck away. Zaid was drawn toward the fondue like a moth to a flame, and was already preoccupied with a strawberry covered in pink chocolate. He managed to get it on his hands, and grinned at her. "Loooook. I'm a chocolate bunny."

A few people were looking at him oddly at this point, and then giggling. He was too adorable for them to want to stop. Some drunks were a mess, but Zaid was the ever adorable drunk that just wanted to have chocolate and dance. He managed to dance in place, keeping rhythm even while eating. He resisted head bobbing through. Being tipsy and head bobbing was a baddddd idea.

Eating and dancing? Gooood idea.

Games! She'd have someone to play games with and not feel totally lame while doing it! There were only so many play through's of Dark Age and Dragon Souls that a single person could manage before you'd done... everything.

It would all be up to Jude, really. The boyfriend. It probably helped that there was no attraction between her and bunny boy, well, at least on his part. She certainly found him attractive in some ways, but he was taken and had no interest and that meant he was off the table.

"Heck, just go what you like to go as! Be the best Judy Hopps there is! You should get your boyfriend to go as Nick Wilde, too!"

She giggled, which ended in a snort. Uh-oh... she was getting drunk. She'd better lay off the booze for now or she'd blow past her limit in no time.

She'd found him at the fondue fountain, which was surprisingly empty for being full of chocolate. Maybe that was due to all of the expensive costumed? Who knew? More chocolate for them!

She plopped her own strawberry in, smothered it in pink, and tried to plop it quickly in her mouth.

Keyword= tried.

It dripped all the way over, down her sweat shirt, across her pants, onto her shoes.

"Mmffh!" She had a mouth full of strawberry and chocolate, and thus couldn't adequately react to his chocolate bunny comment until she had chewed some more. How was he still able to dance around like that while eating?!

She waved around her little stabby fork, trying out a chocolate covered marshmallow next, and then a banana, and then a piece of the little cut squares of cake...

She blinked, suddenly feeling quite full. How... how long had she been freaking eating?? Meh! A full stomach was good for maintaining a good alcohol vs. rationality level.

... Why did her mouth taste like Baileys Irish cream?

Who knew!

"Zaaaaaid, teach me another cool dance move!"

Zaid blinked, feeling himself pulled out of his chocolate stupor. Teach? Dance moves? Why, of course! That sounded like a great idea! Finishing his food he got a napkin and tried to clean up the best he could, then stepped back so they were away from the table.

"Okay! Let's just start with some of the basics! There's, the single ladies..." he embraced his inner diva and showed her a few of the steps. She was, not so coordinated when mimicking him. He snorted a laugh. "Then, the Spongebob!" he tried this move as well, but it was much harder to get his legs to do the complicated sort of two step shuffle. That was waaaay more wiggling than he had wanted to do anyway.

After a few more failed attempts where she tried to follow, Zaid was having trouble maintaining his dancing. Rather than sobering up, he was feeling tipsier than ever. "Juni, isn't the chocolate supposed to make the world feel less tipsy?" He commented finally. He should probably head home soon. He needed to check on Jude. Jude! Jude should come dance too!

Or, help him get home. Where was home anyway?

With all the reasoning of a drunk person, Zaid fished out his phone and found his boyfriend's number. After a few rings he heard a familiar voice on the other end.

"Juuuuuudeeee. Where do I live?"

Woo, that punch must have hit her harder than she had expected. There was a pleasant delay in thoughts and movement that she recognized from having one too many, and yet she didn't thinks she had really had that much? Maybe the mixed drinks had been more than just vodka.

Oh @#$%, they were starting with the Queen B?! Juniper didn't think she had enough hip or butt for most of that woman's dance moves, but from what she could recall a lot of the moves were similar to what she used for... her... other activities.

In short, half of the dance moves were really hard and she was sure she looked like a trashed white girl trying to twerk, and then she'd randomly bust out a move she probably seemed a bit too good at. It was fun and awkward all wrapped up in a big, red, drunk bow.

The second one seemed easier at first; it looked like skipping backwards, almost. She stared at Zaid for a moment before hopping in and trying to mimic the series of foot and leg movements that made up the shuffle.

It was DEFINITLY not as easy as it looked!

She felt more like squidward cartoonishly flailing around on noodly tentacles than she did a real dancer. She gave up slightly before Zaid did, more flushed in the face than ever and panting from the exertion their random bout of cardio brought on. Jesus, she really needed to start running again.

"Hah! Sugar is, like, supposed to help slow down the Abs-...absort... absorv- Ah, whatever." Crap, though... he had a point though. Zaid, with food in his stomach, should not have been getting more intoxicated.

She got distracted from the bunny when someone sidled up behind her, and turned in a wobbly fashion to stare at them. A masked woman was giggling at her.

"You two must be new to these kinds of events... i've never seen you here before."

Juniper had the distinct impression that she was hot behind that mask, even if she only had a pair of perfect red lips to go off of. "Yep! I saw... saw something on it online." She hiccuped. Crap.

The woman giggled again. "Looks like you might have enjoyed too much of the fondue. It's alcoholic, you know."

...

"@#$%. Really? Who spikes chocolate?!" She aggressively fed herself another chocolate strawberry, because... because.

"Are you two going to participate in the swap, too? I'll admit that my darling husband and I have been watching the two of you all night." The woman leaned in and whispered in her ear a few things, some of which involved a confession about how she felt about Zaid's ears.

Juniper's eyes widened dramatically by the time she was done, and she about faced and wobbled her ass right back over to Zaid, regardless of if he was done with his phone call.

"Zaaaaid! Emergency exit plan goes into action right now!" She snagged his hand and bolted, heading straight for the glowing sign that marked where a back exit was.

She phased herself, and the poor bunny man right out through the door without setting off any alarms. Thankfully, they ended up on a sidewalk, on the other side of the building.

"Holy @#$% that was a swingers club!" She threw her arms in the air, laughing hard enough it brought a few tears to her eyes.

"A lady in there like, reeeeally liked your ears." Another hiccup. She blushed damn near fuchsia.

She didn't seem to notice that she had run completely out of her sneakers on accident.

Zaid watched Juniper dancing and wondered if she would do better sober. Maybe not. There were some moves that seemed to work and some that just seemed to be a bunch of random flailing. He tried to be a good friend and laugh. The rule was it was okay to laugh if you both were doing it, and she seemed to be in a good mood because of the chocolate. Eating chocolate seemed to make you happier.

His brain had not stopped his ears from overhearing the conversation, phone still in his hand. Wait, chocolate with alcohol? They DID that?! And then, he was being eyed like someone sincerely wanted to bring home a chocolate bunny, and he forgot he was still on the phone.

Juniper was the best friend. She noooooped them out of the situation with all the talent only a drunk phaser could do. Zaid had never walked through walls before, but it felt weird. He laughed a lot. He laughed even more when she said the word swingers.

"Don't they have something to do with pineapples? Oh, I have a phone call!"

It seemed to dawn on Zaid he was still holding the phone. He put it back to his ear with a tipsy giggle, "Officer Hopps, ZYPD at your service. How my I help you....Andrea! I missed you! You called me? Oh....I called you? I don't remember...Andrea! You should come meet Juniper! She is going to take me to comicon!"

A bit more intoxicated walking, and some confusion on the phone later, Zaid and Juniper were somehow gathered into an Uber by a pajama wearing Andrea. All things considered she managed the situation well, even with Zaid proudly declaring Sloth was his favorite snake in the world, and Juniper wanting to pet the rest of her hair. The fact Juniper was driven home safely and no one was bitten seemed to be a miracle.

Getting Zaid to his apartment, the bunny was super excited to explain the brownstone to ‘mom’, and stumbled out of the car comparing the sidewalk to the tilting floor in their second story guest bedroom. ”You have to come over again sometime! Well have tea! And cook! But not while I’m drunk! Don’t cook when your drunk, that’s how people catch their ears on fire.” thankfully, that logic remained intact.

At the door, a very confused Jude answered. There was some pantomiming between the two mimicking a bottle, drinking, etc. Zaid giggle and used his boyfriend for support, beaming. ”There is alcohol in everything at parties. The punch, the chocolate! I looked like a chocolate bunny Jude! Oooo! We should dance! I can teach you the Cupid shuffle too!!!!” before the door managed to shut, there was one coherent look on Zaid’s face before he asked ”What’s a swinger?”

——End