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The days went by surprisingly quickly. Little by little parts had been assembled for her room. All she needed now to complete it was a bed. Leo had been on slight edge the whole time, ready to spring the one surprise he had for her birthday. Missy wouldn’t budge on revealing when her birthday was. At that point, the man couldn’t tell if she was being annoying or if she had somehow actually forgotten when it was. Either way, he wanted to actually be prepared for the thing. Mostly to call in to work and let them know he had to forfeit a day for the sake of a monster’s birthday. Another part of him wanted to see her reaction to what he bought. Over a hundred bucks, plus ten!

One fateful awakening ritual marked the day of reckoning. “Leo. Hey, Leo. Hey!” Missy said, wildly shaking at his shoulder. Leo stirred himself from sleep. It was Friday. It was too early in the week for this. Too early in the month.

“Yes, Missy? What?” Leo replied. His eyes barely opened, only just vaguely able tell the sun wasn’t even out yet. At least he wouldn’t be late for work at this rate. He began to stretch but was pulled onto his back. “What?” he huffed.

Missy put on a full toothy smile as she looked down at him. She was fully clothed at least. “It’s birthday time.” Oh, great. “So where’s my present, huh? Huh?” She shook him again. “I’ve been waiting this whole time and you wouldn’t say! I’m really excited now!”

“You wouldn’t tell me when your birthday was. It’s only fair.” His eyes shut again, craving that little bit of rest before having to deal with this day.

“Leo!”

“I’m up. I’m up.” He pulled himself together and tossed on some clothes.

“Oh! Oh!” Missy began hopping on the spot. “Is it outside? That’s why you’re putting on clothes, right? It’s outside, isn’t it? Is it big? I hope it’s big!”

“Alright, easy. It’s too early for this.” However early it was. Leo managed to pick up his phone and looked at the screen. 5:58. Oh for crying out loud. He grabbed his keys as well. “No yelling outside, alright?”

Missy nodded. “It’s outside. I knew it,” she said in an excited whisper. Leo rubbed his eyes to better wake himself, then began walking toward the front door. He could hear the tap of Missy’s nails on the wood as she followed after him. Today was going to be a really long day. He opened the front door for Missy, promptly locking it behind him after she dashed out. The cool, wet air was refreshing yet a tad too cold. “C’mon, c’mon, where is it?”

Leo waved her over to the car. “Here.” While nobody would be here at this hour, he still glanced every which way as he approached his vehicle. With a click of the button, the trunk popped open, revealing the prize. “Look, I know it’s not the best or anything but—” Leo was cut off by a horrible gagging sound. Missy’s face contorted into sadness and she stretched her arms out to grab the toy. She held it up, sniffled, then pulled it close, shoving her face in the thing with a wail. Fortunately the stuffing muffled her cry, otherwise the sound of a dying animal would echo through the woods. Still, Leo couldn’t help but crack the smallest smile at her outburst.

Missy pulled back with a groan. Leo quickly snuffed out his grin. “So you like it?” he asked, crossing his arms. She only managed a nod before pulling the card free from the flipper.

“Take care of this and enjoy,” Missy shakily read aloud. “Love, Leo.” Wait, what? She then pulled him into a hug, smushing the toy up against his chest. One gangly arm wrapped around his back, almost shivering as it did. That was definitely a yes to his question. He opened his mouth to ask her to ease off, but decided she could linger a little longer. The man glanced to the card. Really should’ve read that before getting it. Oh well. Whether she got the wrong idea or not was entirely up to her now.

“Alright, easy. Easy,” he said softly. Missy squeezed him tightly, then pulled back. “You enjoyed your gift?”

She nodded. “Uhuh.”

“Great. Now can we go back inside? I’m freezing out here.” He closed the trunk. She nodded again with a chuckle and hugged the toy. The pair walked back inside. Should’ve asked her to wipe her feet off at the door. Oh whatever. He peeked through the window and locked his car. Looked nice outside. Ah, well, that’s just how it is. He closed the blinds and turned around to find Missy gone. From the grumbling off in the distance, Leo could tell she was back in his room. Alright, well, breakfast now he supposed. He checked his phone. Yeah, breakfast at six in the morning. Now what was a good breakfast meal? He rubbed an eye. Did he really have to make her breakfast too?

Yeah, sure, why not?

_

“Does he have to eat at the table too?” Leo said, pointing his fork at the stuffed orca sat next to Missy.

“She, and yes,” Missy said with a nod. Her stabbed into some syrupy pancake and she wolfed it down. “This is really good! What’s in it?”

“Pancake batter? And syrup.” He swabbed up some syrup with a piece of fluffy pancake and ate it.

“I haven’t had pancakes in like, forever.” She took a few more bites, then asked, “So uh, do you have anything planned for today?”

“I was thinking about going to work but...” He sighed. “Guess I’m staying in for today.”

Missy smiled. “Anything planned for me then?”

“Not really. Not unless you want to help me hang a shelf or sand down some wood.”

“Nah, those are boring. I was thinking we could watch movies alllllllll day!”

“Is that it?”

“Well, it’s the only thing you’d like.”

“Yeah, I guess.” It was nice she was thinking about him too. He was going to add a ‘but’ to his words, instead deciding not to in the off chance she thought of something really stupid. Waking up this early, along with a toy and a breakfast? That was more than enough. Not to mention him staying home. Oh right, still have to let the boss know about that. Later, though, since the sun hadn’t even reared its head yet.

Breakfast blew by and the dishes were washed. Leo sat back down at the table, unsure if he should ask Missy what to do or just let her get to it. Maybe she’d forget he was here and stick to herself. At that moment she was cradling the orca and looking down at it like a mother would. “What do you think I should name her?” she asked. Now it was getting worrying. “Bella?”

“That sounds like a name for a cow.”

“She’s got the colors for it!” She hummed. “Maybe Natalie? Nah, that doesn’t sound good. Selene. Hmm. Does Selene sound good?” Missy looked at him. She was taking this way too seriously.

“That definitely sounds good to me.” Leo held back a shrug. “You can take off the ribbon, you know.”

“I would never, it’s adorable! Maybe you can buy me some more. I wanna wrap one around her head too.”

“You mean you want me to wrap one around her head.”

“Well duh.” Missy placed the orca on the table, facing Leo. Almost like it was staring at him now, judging him silently for not agreeing upon a name. “I think it’s movie time now. Ooh, or a tv show. Do you know any good shows?”

“Missy, I haven’t watched TV in nearly a decade.” Or more.

“Jeez, what’d you do all day?.” She shrugged. “Oh well, we can see what they’ve got.” The monstress leaned forward and fluttered her eyes. “Popcorn pretty please!” Eating popcorn this early almost felt like sacrilege, but his body wasn’t going to shut down just because of one day of weird eating. Leo got up and went to work on the popcorn situation. Hopefully getting her way like this wouldn’t go to her head. Missy scampered off into the bedroom, with her new sea friend in tow. At least that was working. Soon enough Missy would only have eyes for that killer porpoise and he could rest.

Popcorn done, movie nearly lined up, back in bed. Leo’s body still craved sleep, yet it couldn’t get any with an excitable monster and blaring TV. “So what’re we watching?” Leo mumbled as he adjusted himself into an all too comfortable bed. When was that new mattress coming? “Not something loud. Too early for that.”

“It’s too early for everything, huh?”

“Guess I wouldn’t expect a nocturnal girl to feel the same,” he said with a stretch. Leo bumped into the plush, which was firmly planted between him and Missy. Wasn’t this bed full enough?

“I’m not nocturnal, I’m crepuscular. I think?”

Leo furrowed his brow. “And what does that mean?”

“Maybe you should ask the infinite knowledge box, dear Mr. Layman.” At least she was using it. “Did you know dolphins are like horses? And orcas are like dolphins. Not whales. So we have dolphin horse whales, but not really.”

Leo placed an arm over his eyes. “Do you understand any of what you just said?”

“It was one-hundred percent English.”

“That wasn’t really what I was asking. I could tell you the television runs on liquid crystals but you don’t know what that means.”

Missy gasped. “Liquid crystals make it sound like magic. That’s super cool.”

Leo pulled his arm away. That was all the rest he was going to get. “You didn’t answer me earlier. What are we watching now?” he asked. He managed to pull himself into something of a sitting position, hoping that would keep him lucid for another hour or two.

“Hold your dolphins there. I’m looking for something good but not too loud for my sleepyhead.” She shifted on her side, toward Leo. One hand held up the remote while the other clutched Selene close. “It’s crazy what they’ll toss on here. Midnight Meat Train? Hello! Bad effects. Don’t even get me started on the lizard people at the end.” The man wasn’t sure if he was half asleep and merely dreaming what she was going on about. “You think they’d get lizard people right.”

“Uhuh,” Leo replied. Whatever that meant. “Are we gonna watch that or...?” Though it might’ve been too early for lizard people.

“Nah. It’ll just make me hungry.” She started humming as she went through the movie list. Leo began to wonder how many times he had been through this very same scenario with her, watching movie after movie. It’d almost feel wrong not to. The movie list had begun to burn into his head. He noted every time one removed or added or even just shifted around. He had to admit, it was somewhat daunting to think of how many movies there were in the world. Not all of them good. “There we go.” The screen went dark.

“What’d you pick?”

“Fire in the sky!”

That didn’t sound so bad.

_

It was pretty bad. Not loud at least. Aside from the screaming. Leo rubbed his eyes and picked up his phone. “Alright, hold on a bit, I need to make a call,” he said. He rang up the one number he had hoped never to dial.

“Okey-dokey!” Missy said. She propped her head up with one hand and smiled at Leo.

“Hello?” a voice on the other side of the line said groggily. Vernon wasn’t a morning person, go figure.

“Morning, sir. Davis here. Sorry to bother you but I’ve got to ah...” Go on, say it. Those forbidden words. “Take up one of my vacation days.” Right in the attendance, ouch.

“Woah, hey now.” There was some shuffling and a chuckle. “You sure this isn’t the wrong number? Some kinda joke?” As much as this whole conversation touched far too many nerves for Leo, it was reassuring to hear his boss’s voice today.

“No joke. I’ve just got plans.” Which was as diplomatic as he could put it. “So if there’s no urgency,” Missy shook her head, “I’ll be staying in today.”

“Finally, a dent in the vacation hours. Someone owes me twenty bucks!” There was a round of laughter and some coughing. “Alright, whatever you’ve got planned I hope it’s good. Say hi to the missus for me.” Leo shut his eyes, did Vernon really have to say that? Missy waved back. He should’ve taken the call elsewhere.

“Will do, sir. Have a good day.”

“Sure, sure. See you next week.” Hopefully sooner. Maybe they’d open the office up tomorrow just so Leo could make up for it. Leo hung up and placed his phone back down.

“So?” Missy asked.

“So what?” Leo replied.

“So where’s my hello from your super cool bossman?”

“You heard it didn’t you?”

“Yeah but eavesdropping is bad, so they tell me.”

“So just pretend you never heard it,” Leo said.

“Darn, you got me there.” Missy laughed. “Your boss really does sound cool. My old roomies all had bad bosses. Mean stuff.”

“You sure they were bad bosses or was it that your roommates were just bad employees?”

Missy loooked up and then shrugged. “Coulda been both. Not like I ever saw them work. Wouldn’t want to. Gas stations are gross, and restaurants are loud.” Leo was about to tell her she had never been in either of those things, but for once, movies and TV gave them the right vibe. “Also I’m changing my name.”

“You’re doing what?”

“I’m Missus now. It’s my promotion.”

“I’m not calling you Missus, Missy. Not even for your birthday.”

“OK, but when it’s April Fool’s can you call me Missus, as a joke?”

“No.”

“Sheesh, tough crowd.” She sighed. “Maybe if I get super cool bossman to sign a name change form in triplicate, you’ll change your mind.” Missy tapped the remote on her chin. “I bet I could get him to get you to buy me a car too!”

“I’m not just a mindless drone, you know,” Leo replied. Though he supposed it was hard to tell at a glance.

“That reminds me. Did you know drone bees get torn to shreds when they’re done banging the queen bee? Crazy stuff.”

Leo was completely tossed off by the response that he had to shake his head to reorient himself. “Alright then.”

“See, I’ve been reading stuff on the computer box too.”

“Yeah, I can tell.”

“Can you believe there’s no wikipedia page for Wolficus? It’s like we flew completely under the radar. Even Bigfoot has his own page!”

“Please don’t make one.”

“I can’t.” She stifled a laugh. “Not without a picture first.”

“You’re going to give me a heart attack. Really.”

“We could use that picture we took. It’d be like ‘pictured here, right, is Leo Lion Davis, first known human to bunk with a Wolficus.’ That’d be great!”

“That would certainly be some sort of weird fame.” Sometimes it was hard to remember Missy was a biological marvel unknown to the world of science.

Missy’s smile lessened. “What do you think’s gonna happen to me when I... y’know, kick the bucket?”

Leo straightened up. “Hey now, you shouldn’t be thinking about something like that on your birthday.”

“I know, but I’m getting older. I was just thinking like, I dunno. Is my skeleton gonna get donated to a museum?”

Leo paused. That didn’t sound right. “Is that how you’d want it to be?”

“Uh.” Her expression faded into thought. “Is there any other way?”

“Well, uh, you could be stuffed and mounted. You know, like a prize hunt.” He raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

Missy chortled. “I am a prize catch, but nah I couldn’t do that. They’d never get my beautiful face right.”

“Then you could go ahead and haunt the guy who did it.”

That smiled returned. “Oh you bet! I’ll rattle their windows and rearrange their chairs forever! Wonder how long it’ll be before that?”

“I’m sure you live as long as the average joe. There’s literally no reason you should think you can’t, alright?”

“Yeah.” Her smile brightened, letting Leo relax. “Yeah. If anything I probably live like, two hundred years.”

“Could be possible. Might explain why nobody has seen any of you. Low birthrates, long lifespan.”

“Hey, maybe I’ll be taking care of you when you’re older then, huh?”

Leo sighed and smiled. “It’d be a good way to pay me back.” He turned his attention to the TV. “Alright, put the next one on before I have to think about you giving me a sponge bath.” Missy giggled and nodded. As much as he did want to divert his thoughts, it was hard to imagine their life like this coming to a close when it had become routine. Missy wasn’t much older or younger than he was. Would she still be the immature goofball come a few years? How was he going to hide her as he got older? As she got older? Where was she going to go? Forever was a long time, but old age made it much shorter. What would happen if he was forced out of this life, hidden away in the forest?

He was the one to soothe her, but Leo quickly realized that he was the one who needed soothing. How long would this take? Would they really be together forever? They already were in just a month. He looked back to Missy and snapped back into reality. Forever was a ways off. He wasn’t struggling to get up out of bed just yet. Life would figure itself out, just as it had so many times before. Heck, his own birthday was a while away too. October was several months off.

“Hey, don’t worry, I’m not really gonna make a wikipedia page,” Missy said.

“Hm?”

“You got that ten hour look, but more like you were really sad.”

“Just wondering if I’m going to have to get the orca a bed too.”

“Nah, Selene prefers sharing a bed. Cozy, ya know?” So it really was working after all.

“Makes sense. You have to clean her like with your clothes, you know.”

Missy pouted. “I’m not putting her in the wash, can you imagine how scary that would be?” Working a little too well.

“OK, well, you have to wash her in the tub then at least. Every so often.”

“Maybe we can do that later. Got any bubble bath?”

Leo shook his head. “No. Not buying it either.”

Missy held up the orca in front of her face and made a sad groan.

_

“Do we really have to listen to this?” Leo asked. He stared at the television. It was another bizarre Japanese music video, which was now serving as background music for their lunch in the living room.

“Uhuh. I already promised I wouldn’t sing, so it should be cool, right?”

“I guess.” Leo looked down at his plate of hot wings. He wasn’t sure what he was more surprised about, that Missy let him leave the house to get food or that she convinced him to grab some of this greasy stuff. She and Vernon could have been in cahoots and he wouldn’t even know it. Best not imagine such a terrible pairing up.

“We’ll listen to some cowboy music or whatever after this one, OK?” She picked up her food, raised it up over her head and lowered it into her awaiting maw, tearing out a huge chunk. It’s her birthday, Leo repeated to himself. Don’t get mad. Missy chewed and then said, “Hot! We should eat out more often.”

“The grease is going to kill me.” Or the music. Something would do him in. Death by chicken would be marginally less embarrassing, he reasoned. “Are you going to finish the rest?”

“Sure! That’s gonna be lunch for a few days.” Microwaved grease poultry, ugh. “Don’t worry, I’ll have like, a carrot or something to make sure I stay healthy.”

“That makes me feel a little better I guess. Maybe you should start exercising.”

“I’m already at my peak,” Missy said. She placed her food down and did various flexing poses. Leo almost wished she did them with her leg of food in-hand, just for the sake of exacerbating the irony. “I bet I move more than the average Wolficus. Can’t prove otherwise.”

“I guess you got me there.” Most of them probably weren’t stuffing their faces with hot sauce either. Or maybe they were and nobody noticed. “I guess if you ever find one, you can ask them.”

“No way. What if I’m wrong? I wanna be right.”

Flawless logic. The television assault came to a stop and the noise pouring out of it ceased. “Alright, cowboy music time.” He reached for the remote, then stopped as he recalled his greasy hands.

“You snooze you lose.” Missy snatched it and already went to work on setting up the next song.

“You better wipe that remote down later.”

“This is my non-wing eating hand. Learn to multi-task, Lion.” He was still going to wipe it down himself.

“That’s exactly why these foods suck. Leaves such a gross mess.”

“I told ya we shoulda gotten pizza.”

“I already told you that wouldn’t be good for you. It’s still a greasy mess anyways.” He could only watch on in agony as the next song started. The doorbell rang soon after.

“You mind moving?” Leo asked. Missy nodded and scampered off with her plate and toy. He rushed over to the kitchen sink, washed off, then peered through the blinds. Delivery? A brown truck peeled off. He glanced back to check if Missy was in view before opening the door and checking for a package. A large box sat snugly by the front door. The mattress, finally! He hefted it up and hobbled back into the house. “You can come out now.” Leo shut the door and set the package down. He nudged it over to her lair.

Missy ran back in. She stared at the box for a moment, then went back to her seat. “Get back over here or you’re not gonna get your country western bluegrass whatevers,” she said with a wave.

“Alright, alright.” Leo trudged back. One second your hands are clean, the next you have to dip them right back into the mess. “By any chance have you got anything else on the agenda for today?”

“Whaddya mean?” She yanked more meat off her wings.

“You know, something that isn’t staring at a rectangle all day?”

Missy nodded. “I getcha. You wanna go outside or something.”

“Or something, yeah.”

“No can do. It’s my birthday and we are staying in fella. No work. No spreadsheets. No calling people up to ask about their internet cubby hole. Only fun.”

“Those could be pretty fun, you know.” It then occurred to him that he’d have to be the one to sweep up today. His mind briefly entertained the thought of skipping out and letting her do double the work. Unfortunately the thought of leaving the house unclean, especially after her birthday, was too painful to bear.

“We’ll listen to Hank John Willaby or whatever now.”

“Is that his name now?”

“Cowboy man. They’re all the same ya know.” She shrugged.

Yeah, he should’ve seen that coming. “I wasn’t really intent on listening to him anyways. He’s better for long drives.” Been a while since he could do one of those.

“Well we’re not driving. Plus I get really car sick anyways.”

“Right.” Said the person who was probably in a car three times in their entire life. “So are we going to pick something else now or do you really need to listen to more of these hieroglyphs?”

Missy tapped a finger to her chin. She really was thinking about it, wasn’t she? “One more hieroglyph song!” Willaby would have to wait.

_

The monstress had followed through on her threat to a tee. They did indeed spend most of their time glued to the living room television. Leo had always given the excuse that too much TV would damage one’s eyes, but now he was really serious about it. How in the world could she consume so much of this stuff without her eyes popping out of her head? They went through music, movies, and television, all throughout the day. It had started to become a blur to Leo, and he found himself staring at a wall just to get away from it. Occasionally his eyes would wander over to the bed by the front door, and a spark of hope would reinvigorate him. That would be his reward for getting through this.

Still, watching movies so late into the night took its toll, even carrying into the bedroom. She was clearly going to ride this all the way to the very end, crashing into twelve in the morning. Only once a year, Leo repeated to himself. Only once a year. It was a mantra he desperately clung to, and one he continued to cycle through his thoughts until the TV switched off. Leo had half a mind to shut his eyes right then and there, yet curiosity got the better of him. “No more movies?” he asked, staring at the TV.

“Nah, I’m getting a little sleepy.” A little? He wanted to laugh. “Plus, I got gunk on Selene.” Missy held up the plush to him. “We gotta wash her.”

“And then sleep?” he asked.

Missy yawned. Don’t tease. “Yeah. Then bed.” All he’d have to do now is wash a fish and assemble a bed. Should be easy.

“Let’s get going then. I got the vinegar for it.” Leo hopped out of bed and was already on his way to the kitchen.

“Where was all this energy when we watched ‘The Master of Disguise?’ “ Missy asked. He ignored that little tidbit and retrieved a rag along with the cleaning vinegar. Onward to the bathroom.

“Get over here before the stain sets.” Leo wet the rag with the sink tap. “I haven’t got all night.” He did, but that was beside the point.

“Coming, I’m coming.” Missy waltzed over next to him, presenting Selene. “Take good care of her.”

“You kidding me? A hundred bucks? She’s practically queen.”

“No, I’m queen, but maybe she’s a close second.” Leo set aside the chain of matriarchal command. He got to work right away, rubbing in vinegar on what was clearly hot sauce, then cleaning that off with warm water. At the rate Missy let this killer whale get dirty, it wouldn’t last the year. “You wash many plushies in your time? You’re a natural.”

“No, but you do the same thing for jackets.” He repeated the process a few more times.

“Not too rough.”

“Again, a hundred bucks. I’m careful.” There wasn’t a spot that Leo didn’t go over to make sure the plush was completely clean. No chance he was letting this expensive gift rot away into a festering mess of discarded food and fur. He was especially careful not to pull off its ribbon. It was likely Missy would make him tie it up with the same intense skill the cashier did as well. “There. Completely clean.” He wiped it down with a dry portion of the rag. “Please just don’t touch it when you’re eating, OK?”

“Yeah, OK. I’ll get her a bib,” Missy replied. He decided not to jab back at the terrible joke. Instead, Leo got up and headed for the living room. There it was, the answer to all of his problems. A mattress in a box. Jamming his finger just underneath one of the flaps, Leo manage to pry the thing’s top open, revealing his prize. Move the old mattress into her room, put this one in, and enjoy the night. He picked up the instructions, instantly noting the large notice telling him to not to lie on it for at least an hour. Well, he could stand up that long for sure. “Hey, Leo?” Not now.

“Yes?” Leo asked, readying himself to pull out the thing. The air was filled with the smell of freshly unwrapped artificial foam mattress. The smell of victory.

A distended hand wrapped around his wrist. Leo snapped his eyes to it. “Can we maybe leave that for tomorrow? It’s still my birthday.” Only just barely. He looked back to the box and sighed. What was really one more night? Were you really going to assemble a bed, drag out two mattresses, and also stay up an hour extra? Probably, but Missy just had to say no.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she replied instantly.

“I mean, I have no problem doing this right now—”

“I don’t want you to!” Her grip tightened.

Leo pursed his lips. “Alright, fine.” He tugged away from her. “We’ll do it tomorrow morning, after breakfast.” Missy smiled and she hugged her killer whale. “But no movies. We’re going straight to bed.”

“Straight to bed! No movies!”

Leo glanced back at the mattress, then her room. Hopefully this would be the last delay, he thought. The man then followed Missy, who had already rushed into his bedroom and plonked down onto the bed. All lights off. He settled into bed next to her. “Could you keep Selene on your side of the bed? Please?” One furry body was enough.

“You don’t wanna hug her too? What if you have a nightmare?” She held the plush up and nudged it against his shoulder with a groan. Is that what a whale sounds like to her?

“Trust me, I won’t.” Or he was already having a mild one. “Plus, I don’t want to crush her.”

“Oh yeah. Guess she’d me smushed between both of us.” The Wolficus placed the plush on her side. Everything became still and silent, affording Leo some rest. His body was worn, almost feeling like he had done something productive. Keeping Missy happy on her birthday was work in its own right, he supposed. He had forgotten just how sweet the sound of absolutely nothing was. It seemed like the whole day something was rattling in his ear.

Missy shifted in bed. “Hey, Leo.”

“Yes?” His eyes had long since shut.

“Thanks. I think this is the best birthday I ever had.” Her voice sounded closer.

“You’re welcome,” he mumbled.

“I think I kinda overdid it.”

“Yeah.”

There was a sigh from the girl, but no response. Good. Sleep would finally come. Leo snuggled into his pillow and brought the sheets up to his neck. Going to bed hadn’t felt so good since... well, Missy got him into this stupid arrangement. He supposed that was one positive from this all. Leo was quietly carried on his way to sleep until something pecked at his cheek. Slightly wet. Smacking sound. Was that a kiss? Leo’s eyes stirred but he couldn’t bring himself to look at Missy disapprovingly. Oh well, no harm, no foul. Only sleep. “Goodnight, Lion.”