Ted bursts out laughing, but it doesn't sound natural. "Gee - we sure could! Oh boy, this place certainly does have one!" He's said too much already. +

"Thank you for scanning me!" He points at Booster. "Say thank you!" +

"You're late!" He grabs his arm affectionately and pulls him in for a half hug. He's clearly been working. He has a pair of goggles with blue and purple lenses on his head. His shirt is splattered with something blue, but all of the stains are dry. +

✉️ You're invited, I guess! ✉️ Today. ✉️ Like, whenever you can get here. ✉️ I didn't say so earlier because I wanted that to be a reveal. +

[To: BGBFF] ✉️ Knew it. ✉️ You're so impatient! Ted's finger was hovering over the send button before Booster texted him. +

He didn't expect Booster to say he'd miss him again. He rushes out of the car and gives him another tight hug. "Stop talking like that. You're back." +

Buggles is the designated driver for the evening. She makes sure that neither of them touch the controls, they stay inside the vehicle, and neither of them talk for long. Talking isn't normally restricted. +

"I'll need it! I kept a five! That was a terrible move!" Ted wins this round. +

"I did give you something! I lost twice!" He starts laughing. He takes his hand and starts playing with it, bumping his forehead against his. "And you're being remarkably oblivious about it!" +

He groans. "What could I possibly want from you that would be fun right now? We already know what happens when I go near your equipment, and riding on your back while you fly is only fun when I have somewhere to be!" +

"I'm drunk like you are, but I'm not that drunk. Double or nothing for you means you get twice the rides! Double or nothing for me means double nothing! I'll be off the hook, but I don't win, now do I?" He rests his head in his hands. "It's almost like you're trying to change the result." +

"I do have the heart to stop talking to you for three weeks. No texts, no calls, no surprise visits, no comforting post-time-travel meals..." He finishes his beer. "No Buggy!" +

"Oh no you don't!" Right on time, Ted is wearing the same grin. His eyes are fixed on him, and his voice carries a chaos he normally restrains with every ounce of control he has in him. "I've said it once, I've said it twenty times!" +

"Don't worry, I heard you the first time." Ted looks at him as he puts a hand on his card. "Good luck." +

"No way! I'm totally beating you." Ted takes their beers and moves them into a booth. At first, he doesn't sit down. He leans out to look at what Booster is doing. +

"Right, only the beer part!" They go to a bar. Ted has one of his arms wrapped around Booster. He's holding a beer in his other hand. "We're doing it, pal! Something normal, served normally." +

"Alright, alright! My hands are off the mysterious magic construct!" He moves further away from the house, and then he crosses his arms. "I'll have a bug explore it later." +

"What do you mean Booster Juniors? You're still working on the original Booster!" He cackles. +

"Without protection? Gee, I don't know if anyone would appreciate it!" He points at everything using his carrot. "I tested all of these, and all of them are safe and edible! The only thing weird about them is the scale, and the fact that they're growing undisturbed despite..." +

"Sounds like a swell idea for getting in trouble, fast! But you know what, since you wanna be great to me, I'll be great to you." He puts a hand on his shoulder. "I'll let you walk out of my car, even after you took some of my fries!" +

"Oh, please. I'll live." Inhale. "I thought I could use the rock we got after helping that forest fairy fix their TV as a sustainable power source. And I was right! It was working perfectly until I noticed mushrooms growing outta the metal." He eats a fry. +

Ted gets a huge sandwich with fries. Because he's stressed that Booster is worrying about him instead of himself, he also gets some lemonade. Instead of asking Booster to hold the cup, he has it tucked awkwardly between his arm and his chest. He sips at it as they leave the restaurant. +

"Me in check?! You're the one always going off to who-knows-where for who-knows-long, and who repairs your suit after you're back? If anything, I'm keeping you in check!" He covers his face. "Fine! Whatever! But we're not sitting down if you're not ordering too, we'll get takeout." +

He narrows his eyes. He already knows Booster knows. He doesn't bother with a lie. Instead, he says... "...Finish your food." +

"Can it! I ate earlier." Breakfast. "And I will eat again later!" Because Booster's steak was the only food he had prepped. "You happen to know more about me than anyone." +

"Steak and mashed potatoes with a side of don't talk back to me, young man." He points. "You already know that bro time is always a headache! That is the appeal, the point of establishing meaningful and enduring connections!" Food, water, chair, check. Check, check, check. +

"Other self-actualization crap. So much so that I can come back at you expeditiously after I start something! I can cause unprecedented levels of vexation!" He points at a chair. "Sit, I'm heating something up, you're eating. If anything feels off, I'll look at it later." +

He playfully punches his arm. "It was somewhere cool, and you're totally going to dodge all of my questions about it! Dude, that's so not cool!" He grabs him. "I've been building. Constantly. I'm reaching disconcerting levels of self-actualization, and it needs to stop." +

"Evidently!" He hugs him back. It's not long before he lifts him up. He walks around with him in a circle before finally putting him back on the ground. "When the hell have you been?!"

"Are you taking suggestions?" Ted grins. "Because pal, I gotta tell ya', that's not where I would start the list."

"I should've known. It's just as beautiful as everything else you've made." He kisses his cheek and takes it. "Just as lovely as an evening gown." It takes several minutes for Ted to put it on. He has some experience wearing dresses, but it's still not a regular activity for him. +

"You just want to be clear that you're being mindful about that choice, I get it. And don't worry about what was said. You didn't mislead me, you just said something that couldn't be misunderstood in public. I'm happy to wear it." He grins. "Hand it over!"

"Everything isn't done yet! There's still something, and that something is happening in about two minutes." He looks down. "Give or take how easy 'something' is to change into." He kisses him. "When you're ready, you won, and I want you to feel like you did."

"Wherever the journey takes us!" He stands and holds his hand out to him. "And I'd say we have a few more stops on that journey before we get home." When they finally get home, Ted is incredibly happy. He didn't need to use any of his backup plans. Everything went right. +

"Thank yourself! You had the idea to try them, I just made the process a little easier." He covers his own mouth as his smile grows. "I'm probably trying something new later, it's a huge day for new things."

"There's nothing to be sorry about! I'm happy you're happy, I just didn't expect you to hiccup! I was surprised!" He drinks his own water quickly. "I also started to remember why I haven't had one in a while, they're serious when they call these extra sweet."

"Honey, no." He has a hint of concern in his voice. "Wait here." He gets some water for them both. "These are really hard to find outside of certain events, but I know how to make them. If you want one from time to time, we can make them at home."

"Yeah! I mean, sometimes you get "Didn't Use A Funnel" cake instead. The shape comes from how the batter is dropped into the oil." He bites into it and he immediately makes a happy sound. "Oh, it's just as good as I remember." More happy small sounds.

"Strawberries. I have a reliable source on this, myself. According to him, that sounds like it'll taste the best!" He leans in. "If that guy is wrong, I'm gonna deal with him. He can't just go around messing up choices like this."

"Fried batter that tastes like joy, but if you have one by yourself without sharing it, you will be miserable in like an hour. Stomach pain, hard to avoid. If you're interested, I'd love to share one with you." He calls another bug to take the suncatchers home.

"They're perfect. You take blue, I'll take pink." He wraps an arm around him. "And now it's time for you to pick what you want to eat!" +

Can he? I consulted a randomizer to determine the result, and after getting five results to see what name would show up most often... "143! No!" +

"Good, I look great in a dress." Narrator's note: This comment connects to a specific post that I made years ago, and like several other things, I will not let it go. "I was imagining a situation where you stopped aiming for the middle." +

As usual, Ted's strategy is much more reckless. He aims for red. It takes him a moment to understand how to aim on them properly, but he does land several. "...You're getting serious! What did you imagine to get that way?" He grins and lands another red.

He laughs. "You know what? If I start seeing you miraculously pull off impossible feats, I'm just going to assume you got an idea." +

"Tonight then!" He brings his hands together. "Here's the rules: None of the suggestions can be humiliating, uncomfortable, or unreasonable as defined by the loser." +

He shakes his head "no". "That's a consequence for you and no consequence for me, so I'll lose on purpose. If you want to pay, I want you to make that choice fully, not partially." +

Ted pretends to look concerned while this goes on. He hasn't seen Esme move objects around in a while, but he knows he always can. "Yes!" Ted says it while clenching his shaking fist. He pulls it back toward himself, releasing it as he kisses Esme again. +

"I shouldn't give you anything more than a category of thing after that question you tossed me! But I did see something." Ted brings him up to a new game. +

He nods. "We'll take those, thank you." Each one has a cup of tea with a small heart on the center sitting on a saucer. When the watches are pressed together, the color of the heart changes from red to pink. +