#sunnied

"You can take the STEM teacher out of the classroom, but you can't take the classroom experiments out of the STEM teacher," he mused as he pulled open one of the kitchen drawers and rummaged around, finding her adorable bear-shaped measuring tape quite easily. Grabbing a pencil and pad, he strolled into the living room, dodging the various packed boxes as he walked, before handing the items to his wife. He gave her a kiss on the head, then turned and gave Toby a kiss on his head as well before he turned and walked back to the kitchen. "The packing calls to me, darlings!"

Toby and Sunnie stared at each other for a second, eyes wide, before giggling.

"He's really cute when he's being affectionate," Toby whispered.

"Oh, totally cute," Sunnie agreed.

They both knew that he'd probably heard them anyways.

After taking down the measurements between scars, and their distance from the belly button, Toby set his head against Sunnie's stomach. "You know I'm gonna be the best uncle, right?" He grinned ear to ear, "I'm gonna learn how to change diapers, I'm gonna babysit them when you two need time alone, they're gonna be my new best friend!"

Sunnie smiled back at him, running her hand through his fluffy hair. "I know you will," she said, and he preened under her touch, "I've seen your search history, Toebeans. 'How to change a diaper', 'how to rock a baby to sleep', you're really doing research."

"I'm really glad your parents gave you that rocking chair you fell asleep on when you were a baby. I feel like it'll help a lot, though I might fall asleep on it too." Toby smiled.

"Trust me," Sunnie snickered, "My dad did that a lot. Still puts me right to sleep all these years later."

Toby sighed contentedly, then pushed his head a little bit further into his friend, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I've never had this before," he said softly, "You guys are the only family I have, besides mama."

Sunnie dropped next to him on the sofa, wrapping her arms around him. "I know, bestie. I know." She squeezed tighter, remembering the first time she met Toby's mom—Vanessa was absolutely gorgeous, yes, but there was a distant yet palpable loneliness in her hazelnut eyes and in her genial rosy smile. Both of the Culvers truly only ever had each other prior to the aftermath of Sunnie's first mission, and every time Sunnie had visited her with Toby after that, she could see a little more light return to her, as if she was happy that her son had finally found friendship. "Tobs, we're both so lucky that you're in our lives. Ever since Maine, you've been here for both of us. And you've never stopped! You're nothing if not persistent."

"It's not my fault that two hot people with oddly simmering sexual tension between them popped up in front of me like that," Toby laughed a little shakily, "I had to take advantage of the situation. And neither of you… you didn't judge me for who I am or what I do, or that I enjoy what I do. Not many people here have ever wanted to get to know the Foundation's resident torture specialist. You welcomed me, though. Sunnie, you both—"

She could feel him tensing up, so she diverted his energy by squeezing and pulling him backwards into the comfort of the crux of the sectional sofa, padded with pillows and blankets. She laid next to him, nuzzling into his cheek reassuringly.  "Listen, Tobs. We love you. Both of us, we love you so much."

Probably sensing that Toby's emotions had riled up, Dio returned with two glasses of ice water, setting them down on the coffee table and sitting next to Sunnie. "Tobias, trust me. You are as much a part of our family as we are yours. We guarantee you that. And both of us will remind you of it, over and over, whenever you'd like." Toby and Sunnie sat back up, the former reaching for his water as his face could hardly contain the blushing joy he was feeling.

"You guys will be the death of me," he forced out, nearly trembling with happiness before taking a long drink. "Both of you are too much, almost. It's a lot to handle at times."

"We have a lot of love to give, silly," Sunnie teased. "And you do too. You're going to be one of the best uncles the world's ever seen."

"Agreed," Dio said.

"But!!" Sunnie blurted out, a warm sharpness in her tone that made Toby straighten up and answer her with a clipped 'yes ma'am!!', "I have some rules regarding media. They are to be strictly followed, as the situation allows."

"So, if it's on in a public space, it's generally fine," Dio said, nudging their friend behind Sunnie's back. "It's mostly an 'if we can help it' policy."

She nodded. "Firstly: no Paw Patrol until the kid can be spoken to about the show's implications," she said, tapping her finger on the coffee table, "I don't trust it. It seems like an authoritarian police state fantasy packaged up in cute vigilante puppies. The lack of social services depicted in the show and the normalization of drone surveillance over the citizens alarms me. I could go on a rant about my problems with it, but I'll spare you."

Dio chuckled lovingly. "I defer to my wife on this one. She's the political science major, I trust her judgment on matters such as this above all."

Toby nodded dutifully, understandingly: "Honestly I got a nasty vibe all along with that show," he then snickered, "Like it's paw-paganda."

Dio rolled his eyes, smile pulling at his lips despite himself. "Oh my god."

"Secondly," Sunnie continued, "No Peppa Pig. I've seen the devastation that porcine pest can cause. Do you know how hard it is to stop an entire grade of children from oinking after each sentence?? Her effects are horrifically memetic in nature. Shit catches on like an SCP cognitohazard-based plague."

"I've seen some Peppa Pig episodes," Dio grimaced, "Can't believe my country of origin produced something like that."

"No phallic-headed piggies, got it," Toby nodded again, thoroughly amused by Sunnie's personal vendetta against a children's cartoon.

"And thirdly:" Sunnie said, "Fuck Caillou, if I could punt that bald-headed little shit across a field I would. No Caillou. Absolutely none."

At that, Toby laughed, loud and ringing. "At this point, do you guys have an approved list of kids' media?"

"Oh, of course. Most media is alright, it's just that we've taken a stand against these specifically. But we do have several that we favor," Dio said, almost sagely, "Daniel Tiger, Bluey, The Backyardigans, many of the shows on PBS—barring any aforementioned—Mr. Rogers in particular is a show that Sunshine has introduced me to, and I find its quality to be incredible."

"He's healing his inner child," Sunnie interjected, to which Dio smiled.

"Yes," he said, voice soft and a little distant, "Yes, I suppose I am."

Toby looked up at him, his usually manic gaze softening. "I'm happy for you, Big D," he said, voice comfortingly warm, "If anyone deserves it, you do."

Dio laughed. "Oh, I hardly think I deserve it," he said, ruffling Toby's undercut a bit, "Actually, amongst all of those shows, I think I've found myself appreciating Bluey the most. It's… helpful to see a healthy family dynamic such as theirs."

Sunnie planted a kiss on her husband's cheek. "You're talking like my family isn't enough of an example, babe," she said jokingly, to which Dio's face went slightly paler than normal.

"That's—my love, that's not what I meant at all, I just—"

She cackled, "I'm teasing, big guy. I know." Sunnie pressed some extra kisses to his face, and he relaxed.

"I agree with Toby, you know. Sometimes you are too much." Dio took a deep breath in while Toby snickered at the blush that dusted the vampire's cheeks. "I don't know how to raise children. I have no idea what it might be like, nor what being a good father to a little child is supposed to entail. I've met some of Sunshine's former students, and I've watched how wonderfully she interacts with them, how she treats them as equals rather than looking down on them. But I, myself, have never done so." He looked over to Sunnie, his smile loving. "Your parents are excellent, the best of the best. Your relationship with them is so open and honest, but I've only ever seen pictures and some sparse video of you with them when you were a child. So, watching Bandit and Chilli's grace in raising their little animated puppies is the best I have in that regard." Reaching a hand up, he cupped her cheek, running his thumb along the soft, glowy skin. "I spent years filled with cruelty and covered in sharp edges. Being soft and yielding is still a new experience for me. I only hope you allow me leeway as I navigate this new chapter of my life, my love."

Sunnie's lip trembled a bit and her eyes noticeably began to water slightly. She drew in a shuddering breath as she smiled widely. "The hormones are getting to me. I'm so happy I wanna cry."

"Then I shall be there to dry your tears," her husband said before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Or rather, for now, Toby shall have the honor of comforting you. I'm almost done packing up the kitchen." Toby and Sunnie laughed as he stood, running a clawed hand through Sunnie's messy dark purple hair. "Don't strain yourself too much, Sunlight. The big move is soon after all."

"I'll watch myself, big guy. Have fun with the cutlery!" She called after him as he returned to the kitchen.

"Toss around a few knives for me!" Toby joined in.

"You have my word!" Dio responded.

Sunnie took a moment to drink from her glass of water, nearly emptying it in one go before setting it back down. "It's really weird, Tobs," she looked around at the now-mostly-empty room, a majority of their belongings safe in labeled boxes, "I've lived here for… four years now? I escaped a horrible marriage here, and these are walls I've healed from that in. I found new love here, new friends, a new life, and as claustrophobic as some people might find living underground, I'm going to miss it here."

He grinned his toothy grin and pulled her in for a hug, nestling her comfortably into his side. "I feel like this change will be incredible for you two. A yard! A pool, a creek in the back, so, so many trees, and a lot of them are climbable!" He rested his head on hers. "You guys are gonna have so much space to work with. This kid's gonna have it good. They're gonna wake up from a mid-day nap to the sounds of birds and maybe some squirrels, they're gonna catch toads and fireflies on summer nights. It's literally an idyllic childhood home. Not to mention, the house already feels magical."

"It really does," Sunnie said, smiling at the thought of the beautiful home, and of how she could feel its history the first time she traced her fingers over the intricate carvings on the front door.

"Welp, before we keep packing," Toby said, slapping his thighs before he stood and stretched his arms and back, then went to walk off down the main hall. "I gotta take a piss. I'll be back in a jiff!"

Sunnie stood as well and walked over to the TV, reaching up and pulling her large photobook of Ireland off of the recessed shelf above the screen and held it in her hands for a moment. She ran her fingers over the cover—rolling green hills with a line of an old cobblestone fence running through it, bright blue sky filled with white clouds hovering above the land like an embrace. She wondered if one day they'd be able to travel to Ireland as a family, to see the lands that many of her own ancestors had hailed from.

It had been a little longer than twelve years since she had met her biological mother. And even though that relationship ultimately wasn't fated to work out—her biological mother was fine in the beginning, but she eventually succumbed to a path of conservative religious extremism—it had opened up Sunnie's world to meeting her other family, and eventually her biological father. Sunnie's relationship with him was also ill-fated; as it turned out, he was an Illuminati conspiracy theorist and Sunnie was a Freemason-by-family, so upon learning that, he'd dropped communications with her and, within the past year, had passed from cancer.

Neither of her biological parents, much to her dismay, had Stands. Nor did, to her knowledge, anyone else she was genetically related to. At the time it was an incredibly difficult concept to grasp: she'd spent twenty years assuming and hoping that meeting her biological family would clear up the mysteries of why she was the way she was, of why she could control wind almost instinctively. She never got any answers. In the end, she'd come to peace with the unsatisfactory outcome, and found solace in the discovery of her ancestry instead. Her biological father had an anglicized Irish last name, and upon getting her genetics tested at the behest of her ex-husband, she'd confirmed her predominantly Irish origins.

But she knew that eventually, the child growing inside her would ask why they had no grandparents on dad's side. They'd ask where dad was from. They'd ask questions upon questions, because that is what children do—they explore the world around them through inquiry. She and her husband had had many discussions on how to handle this, and had agreed that the kid would grow up knowing dad was different. That he was a vampire. They both figured that if Sunnie had kept the secret of having a Stand so well as a child, their kid could handle knowing the reality of their dad's condition. Dio had even called his in-laws and asked for advice, which they were happy to give. As for Dio's history, they'd parcel it out in bits and pieces according to how well they'd figure the child could handle it. You can never plan exactly when a kid is ready for something, Sunnie told Dio, they grow up thinking Santa and the tooth fairy exist, and then one day they figure the reality of it out. It'd just be a similar thing to work out.

There was a strange creeping of dark green—almost black—at the corners of her vision, and her brows furrowed. That wasn't normal. She blinked it away, or at least tried to, but it persisted, slinking further and further as her head suddenly felt light and off-kilter.

In the other room, something tingled at Dio's nose, and not in a way he liked. "Love?" He asked, popping his head out from the kitchen doorway. "Is everything alright?"

Sunnie stared at him, wide-eyed, before she felt the hold on the book loosen and it fell from her hands to the floor, narrowly missing her foot. As her vision nearly completely darkened, she felt gravity shift and her knees buckled.

Dio immediately vanished from view, but she knew she was safe, because as she fell, his arms were already there to catch her.

○

The first thing Sunnie noticed when she came to was the sterile smell of a hospital room. The beeps of medical instruments, however, were nowhere to be heard; the room was instead bathed in a watery shimmer, like sunlight viewed through the rippling water of an aquarium, as a large, translucent jellyfish-like creature floated above her, the lights inside it pulsing as it emitted comfortingly echoing hum-like noises. Several of its thick tentacles fell around her like a sort of curtain, soft specks of light drifting down towards her through them like snowflakes, and one tentacle seemed to be placed so that it could connect with her body through her chest. A second tentacle, however, extended itself so that it could connect with her stomach.

Seemingly upon registering Sunnie's awakeness, rainbow lights flitted along the outside of the tentacles, and she found herself admiring the sight—it was like the lights on a comb jelly in the deep sea.

She'd heard about this Stand before: Clementine, a Stand used by one of the major doctors at the Dallas location. The Stand itself couldn't heal, but it was renowned for its diagnostic and monitoring abilities. Toby had excitedly talked about it before, having had to be taken care of by it multiple times (his job as 'interrogator' came with a few dangers), and he'd always sung the praises of its user's bedside manner.

She turned her head towards the windows and saw a tall man, broad-shouldered and framed in the warm light of the sunset, his hat set on the table so his dark hair fell slightly messy around his face as he wrote on something before consulting what was likely a textbook, his long coat draped over the back of his chair. She blinked, brows furrowed as she wondered if she was seeing things, before asking:

"…Jotaro?"

He set his pen down and looked over to her, aquamarine eyes just as vibrant as she remembered. "Sunnie. Hi."

"Uh, hisashiburi." She gripped the soft, sterile sheets under her hands. "How've you been?"

"Well enough."

She looked at him oddly, an unspoken question in the air, which he seemed to pick up on.

"This room isn't protected against the sun, so Dio can't be in here yet." He turned back to his notes, leafing through them for a moment before picking them up and tapping them on the table, straightening them. "Toby was in until he got called out to do some work. I just got in town, and I agreed to watch over you."

Sunnie stared at him, eyes wide, before she laughed, waving her hands in the air placatively. "Thanks a bunch, man, but you didn't need to! This place is super safe, after all."

Jotaro looked back at her, mildly bemused. "I was requested, actually."

She stared at him, face blank. "Uh, Cat? Er–Mrs. Gupta?"

He smirked a little. "No, not her. Your husband asked for me."

Her jaw dropped and she bolted forward in her bed in disbelief. "Wha—Dio asked for you?"

"I was just as surprised as you are. But apparently, he said he couldn't think of anyone more capable of protecting you besides himself. He was… he was very worried for you."

Sunnie sat back on her hospital bed, almost at a loss for words. "Holy shit. Well if that ain't character development, I don't know what is."

Jotaro gave her a light shrug in response. Before he could say anything else, the door opened, and a cheery voice danced through the room.

"Good morning, Mrs. Brando～! Or rather, good evening!"

Dr. Charlotte Wilder's official title was Chief Diagnostician, which was true, but she also had an incredible knack for many other fields, surgery being a particular interest of hers. Her off-record primary work, however, was diagnosing, monitoring, and rehabilitating (if needed) employees affected by any Stand attacks they'd encounter in the field. She was young—only twenty two years of age—with long braided peach colored hair and a multitude of light freckles all over her body, and big, round light green eyes that almost always sparkled. Her position at the Dallas Foundation had been secured since she was scouted at the young age of eleven.

"Oh, call me Sunnie," Sunnie laughed, automatically rising to meet the bubbly personality of the doctor as Jotaro did the opposite and buried himself back into his work.

"Alrighty then, Sunnie," Dr. Wilder grinned widely before making a beeline to the wheeled stool in the room by a desk, "And you can call me Charlotte. We're all Stand users, we're all part of the same gang. So, how are you feeling? Any discomfort?"

Sunnie thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Nah, I feel good. Rested." She then lowered her face into a mock-grim expression, dropping her voice dramatically. "So, doc, give it to me straight… how bad is it? How long do I got?"

Charlotte laughed brightly. "It's anemia," she said, pushing herself closer to the bedside on her stool (but not before doing a 360° twirl on it). "But it's, uh… weird anemia."

"Weird anemia?" Sunnie repeated, slowly.

Charlotte looked at Sunnie over her rectangular wire frame glasses, tapping her Foundation-branded silver pen on the mattress. "While you were passed out, your iron levels dropped a few times. But your child's—" She consulted with her Stand for a moment, and it seemed to let out a few confirmatory warbles, "—your child's rose significantly each time that happened."

Sunnie's eyes blew wide and she leaned forward, shocked. "You mean the kid is leeching off of me??"

"Well, they're half vampire, what did you expect?" Charlotte giggled, one of Clementine's translucent arms beginning to flash dimly as she filled out a form on her clipboard, "But this isn't anything to worry about. We just need you on a special iron supplement regimen. I'll take the data from Clementine into the lab and get something fixed up for you. I'd like you to come in weekly to check for any adjustments that need to be made at least—you know as well as I do that we're winging this pregnancy as it is. If you begin to feel lightheaded before that week mark hits, let me know immediately and I'll get you in."

Jotaro saw Sunnie relax into her pillow slightly, breathing a sigh of relief. "Yeesh. What a little gremlin." She smiled and placed her hand on her belly, caressing it through her sweatshirt softly. "You're gonna pay for this in so many cuddles when you get outta there, buddy."

Charlotte looked at Sunnie and held her hand up, whispering a small 'may I?' before Sunnie nodded, and Charlotte placed the hand on her stomach as well, right next to her Stand's glowing arm. "You know, when I heard about the circumstances of this pregnancy, I was fascinated—a non-human and a human producing offspring, and this is the first time we'd be able to monitor it all the way through. A medical first…" she trailed off for a moment, before looking at Sunnie, alarmed. "Oh–oh god, I'm so sorry, I'm talking about you like you're an experiment—"

She was cut off by Sunnie's bright, cackling laughter. "No! No, I get it. I totally get it, I'm rather scientifically-minded myself. I'm just as interested as you are, frankly."

Charlotte relaxed substantially. "Oh thank god," she chuckled, "I tend to overwhelm people sometimes. Don't mean to, it just kind of happens." She stood up, putting her pen in her lab coat pocket. "I'll get the supplements ready in the pharmacological suite. By the way," she said, almost as an aside, "The sun's just set. Your husband will probably be up soon." She then motioned to her Stand, which detached its tentacles from Sunnie's body and made a deep warbling noise. "It was good to meet you, by the way! Don't forget, I'll see you next week."

Sunnie waved excitedly. "Next week! I'll definitely be there."

Charlotte smiled again before turning to leave out the door. As Clementine followed the doctor out of the room, Sunnie looked at Jotaro and saw his gaze following the Stand intently. After the door closed, she waited a few seconds before releasing an amused huff of air.

"…Did you like Clementine because it looks like a jellyfish?" She asked, a sly grin on her face.

Jotaro looked off to the side slightly. "…I didn't hate it."

Sunnie giggled. There was a comfortable silence between them for about a minute before she spoke up.

"Dio and I bought a house that we're moving into," she said, "It's massive. Three stories, Victorian. There's a pool, a garden… There's a creek in the back too, with fish and ducks and frogs. We've even already had all the regular windows replaced with a special Foundation-made UV-resistant glass, and all the stained glass is being treated so that Dio can walk around during the day and not get hurt." She looked at Jotaro with a warm smile. "We're also having a second, more planned out marriage celebration early next year. Our wedding was really rushed and really small, but if you'd like to attend, I'll send you the details."

He stared at her, face stoic as always, before nodding. "I'll see if I can make it," he replied. "I suppose I need to get over the fact that this Dio isn't the one I fought. The fact that he's been in with the Foundation this long speaks for itself, but…"

His words died off and he seemed to not know how to continue his thoughts out loud, but Sunnie nodded knowingly. "I get it, Jotaro. Sometimes it's hard to let go of a past that affected you so deeply. I know how it feels."

He gave her a small, appreciative smile before the door slammed open and there was a blur of blonde hair as Dio wrapped his massive arms around Sunnie, pushing her back into the pillow on the medical bed with the force of the hug.

"Oh. Speak of the devil." Jotaro deadpanned.

"Darling, I spoke to the doctor in the hall," Dio said hurriedly, not paying any mind to Jotaro's comment. "She said it's anemia, and assured me that you and the baby are going to be fine, but how do you feel? Are you alright??" He pulled back and looked at her pleadingly. She just broke out in a peal of laughter, cheeks flushing.

"I'm fine! I promise, I'm fine, big guy." She brought her hands up to his face and pulled him down, pressing their foreheads together. "Both of us are perfectly fine. It just turns out our little bundle of joy is taking a few cues from his dear old dad and taking some of my blood."

Dio's eyes widened for a moment, then he laughed as well, the sound deep and sonorous. "Well well well, I certainly don't blame them! They'd better leave some for me, though. I've been holding off on partaking since the beginning of the pregnancy and I would hate to be left out."

A cough interrupted them, and they both turned to see Jotaro, whose normally aloof demeanor had cracked to show slightest hint of disgust at their display of affection. Sunnie cackled again, and she apologized profusely as Dio straightened himself up.

"Jotaro, I would like to thank you personally for watching over Sunshine," he said, though his furrowed brows gave away his discomfort being so close to the man. "And, by proxy, our unborn child."

"It's no problem, really," Jotaro replied, voice a little clipped. There was a small twitch in one of his hands, and he seemed to grit his teeth. "Do you, uh, do you know the sex of the child?"

"We know, but we're keeping it between us," Sunnie explained, to which Dio chuckled.

"Sunshine has some… more traditional family members. When we do finally announce both our marriage and pregnancy to them and the baby showers happen, we'd prefer to not have them forcing these weirdly gendered baby items on them."

Sunnie grimaced. "Like those onesies that say 'daddy's girl'."

"Or the shirts that say 'lady killer' or 'hide your daughters' or some such nonsense," Dio added in disgust.

Jotaro felt some of the tension leave his body. "That's understandable." He paused for a moment, clearly deep in thought. "You really aren't the same man that I killed, huh?" Jotaro said, standing to his full height. Even this Dio was different—he was slightly taller than Jotaro, maybe by an inch or an inch and a half.

Dio's brows creased, and he looked away. "We may have been similar. Dio Prime and I have both done terrible things—arguably, I have done far worse. Since I escaped, the number I've killed in the name of survival is far higher than Prime's ever was." He sighed after a moment, then met Jotaro's eyes again: they were the exact same bright aquamarine color he remembered from that night in Alta, but these were calmer and wiser and not filled with hatred. He breathed in deep before releasing a sigh. "Ultimately, I do feel I've changed. A wise man once said, 'Which is better: to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?'"

Sunnie immediately slapped at his hip. "Oh my god," she stage-whispered, "Oh my god are you fucking quoting Skyrim to Jotaro???"

Dio just as quickly grabbed the top of Sunnie's head, pushing it around in circles as he, too, stage-whispered humorously, "Shh. Hush, my love. Don't say anything."

Jotaro just stared at them in disbelief. "…Dio played Skyrim?"

Dio shrugged. "Whenever Sunshine goes out on missions, I find myself with little to do. She enjoys video games, so I decided to try some out, on her recommendation."

"He's played Shadow of the Colossus too, and we play Guild Wars 2 together as well," Sunnie interjected, grinning, "And several Pokémon games, but I question his team building methods."

Dio leaned down, leering at his wife. "I build my teams for the aesthetic. It's important."

She glared at him. "What about functionality, because I kick your ass EVERY time we battle!!"

"It doesn't matter that you kick my ass. What matters is that I look good."

Despite himself, Jotaro let out an amused huff. Both Dio and Sunnie stared at him with wide eyes. "You really are a lot different than him," Jotaro said, almost under his breath, before continuing. "I have to get to my room, I have a call with the Antarctic Expedition team in an hour."

"It's been good seeing you, Jotaro～!" Sunnie said cheerily before her face contorted in what seemed to be confusion and some slight discomfort. Then, realization hit. "BABE," she whispered, eyes like saucers, "The kid's kicking!!"

Dio immediately dropped down and knelt by his wife, placing a large hand on her stomach, a short moment passing before his eyes lit up. "Oof, that's a strong child. I expect nothing less." He smiled proudly. "Especially considering who the parents are."

"When's the kid due?" Jotaro asked as he gathered his things into his briefcase.

"December," Sunnie smiled, "So, soon enough."

Dio laughed softly. "Soon? Love, that's several months away yet."

Her smile turned cryptic. "The people that get it, get it."

Her husband rolled his eyes. "You say the strangest things sometimes." As the Joestar began to walk to the door, Dio stopped him. "Jotaro?"

Jotaro looked back at him over his shoulder, and they shared a sustained moment of eye contact that, refreshingly, wasn't fueled by animosity and rage.

"…Again, thank you." Dio finally said.

Sunnie's eyes screwed open, and she grunted longer this time. "'M up. I'm getting up," she muttered, rubbing her eyes. She un-slunched herself, stretching in her seat a bit before awareness slowly rebooted her brain. Suddenly her eyes flew wide open, a burst of soft wind chimes ringing through the air as Dust in the Wind emerged from Sunnie and the Stand immediately swept to the rear-facing car seat, checking its contents intently.

There he was—baby Liam Brando, barely two days old at that point and wrapped up snuggly, fast asleep. His chubby little cheeks were faintly rosy and he had a significant tuft of light lavender hair poking out from the blankets.

Sunnie relaxed in the seat slightly, sighing. "He's sleeping," she informed Dio, Windy nodding gladly and vanishing, "He's so fucking cute, babe. Holy shit."

"We did a fine job, if I do say so myself," he replied, unbuckling himself and opening the driver's side door. "Come now, let's show him to his room."

"Yeah. Let's head inside. My parents should still be here, and I'm hungry as fuck."

"Luckily for you, I alerted your parents of our arrival. Lee should already be getting the grill ready," Dio grinned. He opened the back seat door, thinking for a moment before Liam's car seat was already undone and in his arms. Sunnie stared at him, an eyebrow raising.

"Did you just stop time to undo his car seat?"

He chuckled. "That I did. It was the easiest way to not jostle him, though I'll admit, he sleeps a lot easier than I would have suspected a newborn to do."

Sunnie gave him a knowing smirk. "Looks like that part of him takes after me, at least." She paused for a second and sniffed. "…Steak. It's steak, dad's cooking steak!!" Dio met her around the other side of his SUV and leaned down, kissing her.

The Gupta's house was large—large enough to be a mansion, but the word 'mansion' wouldn't feel quite right: 'mansion' leaves the impression of something daunting and impersonal, and the Gupta house was far from those things. The reason their house was so big wasn't technically for them, however: the couple was childfree by choice, which confused the real estate agent as to why they wanted a large home with many rooms and a large backyard. Janpreet was one of the middle children of a family of eight siblings, and he had already amassed a gaggle of nieces and nephews and niblings, so they wanted a large property so they could host family functions and holidays and have enough room for all of them. The decor featured clean lines and bright colors, with patterned rugs and pieces from their multiple trips not only to India, but around the world as well. Neither Janpreet nor Catherine were believers in minimalism.

Janpreet Gupta was the embodiment of a doting stay-at-home husband. Noting his intense interest in the subject from a young age, his parents, who had immigrated to the States from India, taught Janpreet how to cook, and by God was he exceptional at it. The Gupta house, as a result, always smelled amazing: turmeric, garam masala, ginger, cinnamon, fenugreek, coriander, coconut—deep scents of roasted spices permeated their large house from the well-outfitted kitchen, which was filled with both top-of-the-line appliances and well-loved inherited woks and pots and pans. Catherine, who loved her husband dearly, made sure that the kitchen was one that Janpreet could indulge in his favorite hobby to his heart's content. Hanging on a peg near the walk-in pantry was an apron dorkily emblazoned with the words, "I love my girlboss wife".

And if you knew to look for it, there was a tiny, dirty scrap of paper with a hastily scribbled string of numbers framed on one of the counters in the kitchen. If asked about it, Janpreet would beam at you with his wide smile and round cheeks, saying, "That's my good luck charm!" He would then tell you about how he once, doing his best to conceal the nervous shaking of his hands, gave that very paper with his number on it to a certain stunningly gorgeous black woman who had walked into his parents' restaurant and immediately captivated him one rainy night years ago. Then he'd direct your attention to the framed photo next to it, of Janpreet beaming with that same wide smile, gazing lovingly at Catherine, a vision of beauty in golden jewelry and glistening gems and a red bridal lehenga. "It's a good luck charm that clearly works," he would inform you.

Janpreet glanced at that very scrap of paper as he crushed spices and ginger in his pestle, water boiling next to him, and he smiled.

Catherine, however, sat with the surprise guests in the living room, an unexpectedly heavy silence hanging over them. The only person who seemed affected by the weird atmosphere was Sunnie, who was wringing the bottom of her hoodie nervously. Dio sat next to her, arm swung over her shoulders happily, unphased by the awkwardness, and Catherine tapped her shoeless hose-covered foot against the rug as she gathered her thoughts.

"Dio, Sunnie, I'm not saying this is a bad thing. I'm actually quite happy for you both, and I know you'll make excellent parents, but…" Catherine leaned back in her chair, her sharp eyes looking at Sunnie, then Dio, then Sunnie again. "Dio is a vampire. He's not human."

"Don Giovanna turned out alright, from what I know," Sunnie piped up, "I mean, I didn't spend that much time with him, but he seemed incredibly healthy and, y'know, besides having a Stand and being the leader of Passione, normal."

Dio froze, brows drawing down over his eyes. It was something he hadn't considered: the likelihood that the child wouldn't be completely human, the possibility that this could make for a more difficult pregnancy for his wife. He looked at her, clearly worried, and she caught his gaze, slightly unsure herself, before Janpreet entered with a tray, cups of his homemade masala chai balanced perfectly, and cut through the increasingly tense atmosphere with a contagious smile.

"The Don was conceived and born before Prime had consumed Joestar blood and gained access to the full scope of his abilities," Catherine stated pointedly, as both Sunnie's and Dio's eyes widened, "We're entering unknown territory now. This child will be born half human and half fully-powered vampire."

"I'm sure that, no matter what challenges your pregnancy might bring you, you'll be well-taken care of," he said, setting the tray down on the coffee table and handing Catherine a cup and kissing her cheek. He passed Dio and Sunnie their cups as well, and they thanked him as he sat in the chair next to his wife. "You've got Dio, you've got us, you've got the entire Foundation at your back," he continued, "You'll be getting the best care imaginable."

Sunnie's shoulders slouched, tension leaving them in a rush as she slumped against Dio. "You're right, Jan. Every pregnancy is a risk, really. This one might be a little weird, but it's nothing I can't handle. I'm a tough bitch, after all." She took a drink of the chai and hummed contentedly, looking up at her husband. "If things go sideways, Dio's here. He's saved my life before."

"Let's have faith that it won't come to that," Dio chuckled, relaxing as well. He sipped from his cup and took a deep breath, feeling settled from his brief bout of worry.

As the conversation drifted on at a leisurely pace and the chai was nearly finished, Sunnie had relaxed to lay her head in her husband's lap at his behest ("The mother of my child needs to take it easy, it's quite late.") and Dio stroked a thumb across her neck affectionately. There was a lull between them, and Janpreet had taken Dio and Sunnie's empty cups to the kitchen to clean. Sunnie was the one to break the soft silence.

"We can't raise a kid underneath the Foundation, Dio," she sighed, rolling over to look up at him, "A kid needs space to run and play and get messy. A kid needs trees and a yard and adventure."

"I agree, dove," Dio smiled, lifting a hand and combing his fingers through her hair, "But you needn't worry. I have a feeling it'll all work out."

Catherine considered her two friends for a moment, then set her nearly empty cup down. "Honey," she called, "Doesn't Sameena have that creek-side property somewhere?"

"Oh!!" There was clanging from the kitchen as Janpreet set down something metallic and rushed back into the living room, grinning ear to ear and eyes sparkling as his slippers slid across the floor before he came to a stop. "Yes!! It's a big house. There's a gorgeous garden and lots of room, especially for a growing family!"

Sunnie turned her head to look at him, curious but confused. "You know someone who just like, has properties laying around?"

Janpreet nodded. "My younger sister! She likes to find beautiful houses that may be torn down for property development, then save and restore them until the right person or people come along!"

Dio chuckled. "That sounds like an expensive hobby."

"My brother-in-law is a very rich man," Janpreet said, sitting next to Catherine again, "And he loves his wife dearly, so he supports her hobbies, no matter how pricey they are."

Dio and Sunnie glanced at each other for a moment, both considering the possibility, before looking back at their friends.

"So, there's a creek near it?" Sunnie asked, a curious glimmer in her eyes.

"Yes, lots of trees and plants and in the back there's a small creek, I'm sure it looks beautiful this time of year," Janpreet said excitedly. "I think Sameena called it a, uh… 'a magical three-story Victorian gem from the late 1800s'." At that description, Dio seemed to perk up, his eyebrows raising in interest, and Janpreet continued. "She was very happy when she acquired it, said it has a fascinating history."

"Does it, now?" Dio hummed, picking Sunnie's head up in his hand to keep it from being jostled as he crossed one leg over the other before setting her back down. "So this house was built around the time I was human, I take it."

"From what we've heard, yes," Catherine smiled, "It's very much up your alley, Dio. And I know for sure that you'd love the area, Sunnie."

Sunnie immediately grinned wide like the Cheshire Cat, eyes lighting up impishly. "Being near a creek and having lots of foliage means it's got tons of critters. Frogs, toads, snakes… I'm down to check it out if you are, big guy."

"And I'd love to take a look at it if you would like, Sunshine," he returned her grin, then looked at Janpreet. "Does it have turrets, perhaps?"

"Turrets?" Janpreet blinked at him in confusion. "…Rotating machine guns?"

Catherine laughed and patted his shoulder. "No, honey, tower-like rooms with pointy roofs." Janpreet's eyes blew wide with realization as Dio and Sunnie snorted.

"Ooh! Oh yes, I think at least one, maybe two," Janpreet recounted, "She sent the pictures a while ago, so I don't think I have them on my phone anymore, but it looks sort of like a place a modern day vampire or witch would live. I think you two would love it."

"So, should we get in contact with your sister, or…?" Sunnie trailed off, and Janpreet shook his head.

"I'll contact her for you and see if the house is ready to be shown. I know she's done some updating on it—air conditioning, modernizing the electricity, the works. I'll let you know, but I can't imagine her not agreeing."

Another comfortable silence floated in the room as Dio's hand settled on Sunnie's stomach, gazing at her fondly. She smiled back up at him.

"Moving out of the suite'll be good for us, won't it?" She reached a hand up, cupping the strong, sharp line of his jaw softly. "It's about time we get out from under the Foundation."

"It certainly is, my love," he agreed, reaching his hand back up to cover hers, "This opportunity could be a good change for both of us."

Catherine took in the sight of the two of them together and couldn't help the warm, gleeful feeling blooming in her chest. Sometimes it felt like just yesterday that she introduced them: a wary, broken woman and a still-ferocious monster of a man, both of whom needed healing in their own way. She hadn't expected them to find that healing in each other, but the second she saw that spark between them she'd hoped it would lead to something amazing, and they had far surpassed anything she could have hoped for.

"Well," she said, standing, "It's been a long day of politics and travel for me and I need sleep. Would you two like to stay the night?"

Sunnie sat up and nodded, grabbing her backpack at the foot of the sofa. "That's probably a good idea. I'm the one who drove us and I'm pretty tired." Dio joined her when she also stood, his hand rubbing her upper back.

"We'll take the safe room, of course," he said, grateful that Catherine had installed blackout curtains in one of the bedrooms, "Thank you both for talking with us about this. I must admit that I didn't stop to consider certain… special aspects of the pregnancy, and I'm quite embarrassed about my short-sightedness on the matter."

"Oh nah, dude, I totally didn't think of it either. That shit absolutely slipped my mind," Sunnie laughed, "And I'm the one that's carrying this kid!"

"It's easy to get caught up in the moment," Janpreet chimed in, picking up Catherine's empty cup, "I know whenever I learn one of my siblings is expecting another kid, I lose it for a little bit! The excitement just makes you feel like you're buzzing."

"It really, really does!" Sunnie giggled before she was wracked by a full-body yawn. Catherine's lips drew up in a half-grin.

"Get some rest, you crazy kids," she said, shooing them off while Janpreet shuffled off to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. Dio nodded to her and began to guide his wife out of the room, and Catherine paused for a moment, chewing on her lip. "Sunnie, Dio," she stopped them before they turned the corner, and they looked back at her. "I really am truly happy for the both of you. I meant it when I said you'll both be amazing parents. Janpreet is right; you have the Foundation at your back, no matter what happens."

Sunnie took a deep breath, centering herself, clearly still comprehending the fact that she was pregnant, then gave her boss a rosy-cheeked smile. "Thanks, Cat. It means a lot."

Dio inclined his head to her. "Your support is priceless to us, my dear friend. You have my gratitude."

"Nah, nah, it's all good," she grinned, holding the hand up and tilting it side to side, watching the colorful lights bounce across the gem's facets, "It's just, there was a point in time I thought I'd never wear one of these again. It still feels kind of surreal." She giggled. "In a good way, of course."

Dio took the sight of her in for a moment—messy hair, baggy sweatshirt, a few fading love bites peeking out of her shorts and decorating her exposed thighs—and set his book on the side table, swinging his long legs around so his feet planted on the ground. "Sunshine," he said, catching her attention. He lifted an arm, gesturing for her to join him.

She grinned and set the suddenly forgotten calcite sample she was holding back on the shelf, trotting over and standing in front of him expectantly. Dio simply wrapped his arms around her, pulling her towards him and resting his face on her chest. Sunnie laughed, carding her fingers through his hair. "In a cuddly mood, babe?"

"Mmh," he agreed, nuzzling between her breasts as her fingers danced around the nape of his neck. He breathed in her scent—soft, bright, slightly floral due to her lotion… and something else. Something new. He blinked somewhat confusedly for a second, then his brows furrowed and he pulled his face away from Sunnie's stomach slightly.

"You're late," he murmured. She gave him a weird, puzzled look in return.

"The hell do you mean, late? I'm not going anywher—"

But then Dio raised a hand, softly setting it on her lower abdomen as he looked up at her. "You're late," he repeated, somewhat unsure if his own senses were off.

It took a moment before realization crashed on the both of them like a torrent of water, practically at the same time. 

"...I have a package of tests in my old bathroom," Sunnie finally breathed out as Dio stood, grabbing her hand in his and squeezing it.

"They're still good?"

"They should be," she answered. She looked up at him, squeezing his hand back.

"Well damn," Sunnie huffed, both of them staring down at the words on the stick on the counter. "Wouldja look at that?"

Pregnant

"You're on birth control?" He asked after a shared silence, looking at her.

"Well–yeah. But I was conceived on birth control, too," she mused, pursing her lips and tilting her head to the side, "Or at least, that's what my biological mother told me. Who knows if that was just a lie she told to satisfy her born-again sensibilities, though."

Dio snorted, aware of his wife's history with her birthmother. "I've never met the woman, but I wouldn't put it past her."

There was another silence, this one contemplative. They both knew that the little stick in front of them, if it was correct, had the potential to change everything.

"Are you…" He saw her fist on the counter twitch, then clench slightly, and he knew her well enough to catch the faintest hint of unsureness in her voice, "Are you okay with this, if it's right? I mean, neither of us planned for, well, a whole-ass baby."

Dio's eyes widened. Had he given her the impression that he was for some reason displeased? He grabbed her hand, kissing the skin on the back of it.

"Sunshine, I must be honest with you. The moment I saw Rohan and Ariel with Ellie on that video call, I… I felt a longing. Yes, I'd considered this for us before, but…" He wrapped an arm around Sunnie's waist gently, "Every single time I filled you up after that, I couldn't stop thinking about your womb growing round with our child. I couldn't get it out of my head, I…" 

"Babe, I know," she deadpanned, "You have a breeding kink. I've read enough filthy fics in my time to have figured it out the second it kicked in."

Dio blinked at her, eyes wide and a blush softly painting his cheekbones. "Wait." He gulped. "You knew?"

She stared at him for a second before bursting into a fit of maniacal laughter. "Wha-whaddya mean, 'you knew?', of course I fucking did!! Do you even hear yourself sometimes when you're fucking me silly?" She took a gasping breath of air to steady herself before dropping her voice lower in her best approximation of Dio's voice. "'That's right, darling, take all of my seed, we're going to make sure you're perfectly full'," her voice returned to normal, "That's like, classic breeding kink!!"

Dio was rarely flustered, but this was one of those moments that his typically cool demeanor fell useless to him. He averted his eyes, his face a lovely red, and leaned against the bathroom wall before sliding down it, settling on the floor. "It was—it was all very in the moment, dove," he stammered, but he was cut off by her crawling into his lap, straddling him, and pressing light kisses on his face.

"D, I didn't say it wasn't hot as fuck. I'm into that shit too," she giggled, "I'm just a little surprised that you didn't realize. It's really cute of you."

He allowed himself to relax into her, calming down from his uncharacteristic moment of embarrassment. Collecting himself, he sighed, raising a hand to rub along her back. "I do want this. This child of ours, this possibility, I want to see them grow. I want to meet them and hold them as much as I'm holding you now." He took her face in his hands, his resolute gaze capturing hers. "But I want to know. The burden of carrying a child rests upon you, dearest. Is this what you want right now?"

She stared at him for a few seconds, searching his eyes and gathering her thoughts at the same time. "When I was… well, in my last marriage, Vinh kept pushing me to have kids. And I thought I wanted them with him, but every time he told me it was time, that he wasn't getting any younger, I was always scared. I couldn't do it." She shifted in his lap and Dio threaded his fingers through her hair, holding her closer to him. "But with you? I feel ready. This is a surprise, yeah, but it feels natural. It feels like the logical next step in our relationship. Like, 'of course this happened. It couldn't possibly have turned out any other way!'" Sunnie looked up at him, cheeks flush with excitement. "Dio. Us. A kid."

Dio kissed her forehead. "My light." Her right cheek. "My queen." Her left cheek. "My wife." And finally pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "The mother of my child."

Her smile was warm, bashful. "You're a sweet talker," she giggled, then leaned in to kiss him as well. "My king." In a split second, she was in the air, thrown over his shoulder as he stalked through the bathroom door and towards their bedroom. "WOAH!!! A little warning next time, big guy!"

They were glad that the elevator could take them directly to Catherine's office, and that the large windows had been covered with a film that prevented the sun's rays from harming the vampire. The painting behind Catherine's desk had been taken off the wall and turned on its side like a door, the surface iridescent and shimmering. Catherine herself would stand sentinel in her office, the ultimate defense with Creator to protect her.

Stepping through Sleepyhead's boundary felt like every atom in your body wavered, vibrating on whatever strange frequency made her Stand ability possible. The entry room is always the same: a tall foyer, black and white checkered marble floors, towering gold-trimmed windows with frosted glass that hinted at an outdoors that didn't actually exist. There was a dreamy haze in the air, making the lights seem to glow in a strange way. Sitting on one of the ornate sofas was Lixue, her feet jiggling nervously.

Dio could relate.

"Dio, Sunnie," she said in her little voice, whispery and hoarse from generalized disuse outside of her Stand, "Hi."

"You don't have to talk much if you don't want to, Lili," Sunnie grinned.

"It's… it's fine. It's a special day." Lixue glanced behind her, to the right, and the hallway shifted, her Stand alive in its own right. "We should… we should go further into Sleepyhead. Just in case."

Sleepyhead took them to a library, with dark green brocade wallpaper and black wooden wainscoting. The light was low, calming, intimate, and thick curtains draped from the ceilings in weird, nonsensical ways. Lixue's Stand always knew what was needed. Lixue reached up and took a curtain off a hook, covering the wide Georgian archway they entered the room through.

"We're closed off, now," she said softly, "The only person who'll be able to get through is Cat."

So they waited, all three of them a bit too nervous to speak. None of them had any idea what was going on outside, and none of them did until Catherine eventually walked through the curtain, her smile wide and relieved.

"The mission was successful," she said triumphantly, "Sunnie, we've been invited for a celebratory meal at the Monarch, just you and me."

The tension broke, and Sunnie cackled happily before Dio swept her up in his arms and kissed her breathless.

2:21 AM

He felt it when it happened—when Julia Langley died. He was roused from his sleep by the strangest feeling, like a clamp in his chest released.

Realizing that it was the Promise he had made with that wretched woman vanishing, he settled back into the bed, a wry grin on his lips.

"Mmh, wha izzit?" Sunnie mumbled next to him, rolling over to face him in the dark, and he chuckled, pulling her close.

For some reason, the feeling of her soft skin against his, as familiar as it was, was newer. Different. Fresh.

"Sunlight," he pressed a kiss to her head, "The Promise I had with Langley is gone."

She wiggled around in his light grasp and looked up at him somewhat confusedly. "Huh-wha? How do you know—hmmph!!" He laughed and silenced her by smooshing her between his pecs. "Babe, unfair!"

"All's fair in love and smothering you in my bosom, darling," Dio hummed, wrapping his other arm around her and rolling onto his back, pulling her onto his chest. "But I felt it disappear. I feel… lighter. Slightly different." He huffed, brows furrowing, and she reached a hand up to thread her fingers through his hair. "I suppose having it constricting my soul for so long, I got used to it."

"I'm glad it's gone, D," Sunnie said softly, her smile visible to him in the darkness, "I'm glad that she's gone. Now put me back down on the bed. You just fucked me within an inch of my goddamn life, I need sleep."

Dio chuckled, but complied. "My precious little human and her precious human limitations." He paused for a second before nipping at her ear, and she squeaked and wiggled in his arms.

"Hey!!"

"Yes, yes, fine," Dio kissed her again, causing her to giggle. "Goodnight, my love."

"G'night, big guy."

The next day, he sat with Catherine in her office, finalizing his application for citizenship. Considering his… strange situation, there were several documents that he and Catherine were the first to ever see. The country hadn't yet dealt with extra-dimensional citizenship, after all. 

But then there was the question of his name.

"So, legally, on record, you were Dio Joestar in your dimension. George did fully adopt you, after all. Are you going to keep the name?" Catherine asked, eyebrow raising.

"No, I've decided. My last name is Brando," he said, a slightly mournful smile pulling at his lips. "I've taken too much from the Joestars. I'm not taking their name, too."

Catherine smiled too, completely understanding his feelings. She scribbled something else on the final piece of paper and got up, tapping all of the documents on the table to straighten them out before standing to her full height. "Ezra says that once he gets all of this in D.C., he can have your citizenship secured within the next day, two days max. You'll get a social security number, and you'll also be able to get your driver's license, the latter coming with the expectation that you'll learn how to drive a car." She looked at him over the golden wire frames of her reading glasses, a mischievous expression lifting her lips. "I have it on good authority that Sunnie and Toby have already been teaching you how, though."

Dio didn't deny it, shrugging as he leaned back in his armchair. "I've heard tell of the DMV before. Toby describes it as an excruciating experience."

Catherine laughed, patting Dio on the shoulder as she walked past him towards the door. "Since you can't go during the day, we'll need to twist some arms to get you in at night. I have a few favors I can call in for that, but the good news is that you won't have to deal with the agony of the lines there."

After a moment of silence, Dio turned to look at her, realizing she hadn't yet left. "Catherine?"

One of her long, elegant hands rested against the wall, her back to him as she seemed to be caught in a moment of intense thought, before she turned back and walked briskly to her desk, crouching down and messing with her jewelry for a moment before Dio heard the click of a lock opening. Catherine slipped her hand into the bottom drawer and he heard another click, and a latch slid into place.

A secret compartment.

"Now that I have control," she said, bringing out a sealed folder and gazing at it fondly, "I have a promise to keep."

Dio's eyes widened slightly, but he nodded, knowing exactly who she was referring to.

He stood as she walked past him again. "I'm proud of you, President Gupta. There is no one more deserving or capable of this role than you, you know."

She looked back at him for a moment, clearly still processing the weight of all the new responsibilities on her, but relaxed, smiling. Catherine walked back to him and wrapped an arm around his neck in a genuine hug. "Thank you, Dio. You're a good friend."

"I try, Catherine. You took a risk, betting on me. I'll forever be grateful for that," he grinned.

She reached up and patted his cheek. "Once you get your citizenship, you'll also be able to do that thing I know you've been wanting to do," Catherine smirked knowingly, dark eyes glimmering, "Just so you know, I am ordained."

Dio felt his face flush as she left through her office door.

=

"How does it feel to be a free man, Mr. Brando?" Sunnie asked, crawling up next to him on their bed.

"Strangely, not that different," he hummed, an arm wrapping around his lover, "It's going to take some adjustment time, I suppose. I'm not going to get my monthly judgement from the board as an agent of the antichrist."

"Oh fuck, you're right," she laughed, "and who's gonna call me 'Satan's whore' now? Oh, Phillis, Juls, your services will be so dearly missed."

Her cheeks flushed, her eyes sparkling, her smile oh-so-contagious…

It was time.

"My love," Dio murmured, pulling her close and kissing down the side of her face, "My queen," he continued, moving his lips to hers, and she grinned, kissing him as well before he pulled away only slightly. They exchanged gazes for a moment before Dio's hand came up, cupping her face delicately.

"What?" She giggled, and he pressed his forehead to hers, overwhelmed with emotion.

"Marry me."

Her eyes immediately blew wide, mouth dropping open slightly as she blinked almost incredulously.

"Come on, darling, there's no way you didn't see this coming," he hummed, nose bumping hers, "If you want me to, I'll beg. On my knees, for you, I will beg."

"Wha–are you fucking kidding me?? You don't need to beg. Idiot," Sunnie laughed, "Of course I'll marry you. I love you."

It wasn't often that Dio allowed such an open and earnest expression on his face, but there it was—pure joy dancing on his lips and in his eyes. "Thank you," he laughed along with her, bringing her into the deepest hug he possibly could, "Thank you so much."

"Thank you," she replied, the smile in her voice obvious.

He pulled away and grasped her left hand, bringing it up to press a kiss to her ring finger, running his thumb over her skin, loving the softness and occasional small bumps of her scars. "I… I don't have a ring yet. I wanted to propose to you more properly, but…"

She silenced him with a gentle kiss to his lips. "We can pick them out. Together."

He didn't know what to say. He was well aware that he didn't have experience truly comforting someone, but he wanted to try. He just found himself at a loss as to how he could.

The air between them was tense for a few moments, before Sunnie sighed. "I'll be in my room," she stated, starting towards the hallway, but Dio reached for her as she passed him, grabbing her wrist lightly. She stopped and stared at him, eyes wide but somewhat vacant.

"Tell me, darling," he said, voice low, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Her eyes darted from his face to where his large hand was holding her wrist so delicately, so gently, back at his gaze again, then she looked off to the side. "Not right now."

"...Alright," he said, dropping his hand back down. After a second, she continued to the hallway, then paused for a quick moment.

"I'll think of something, though," she said, not facing him, before she went off to her room.

He stared after her, absolutely hating how useless he'd felt at that moment. He was Dio. He was powerful, he was a vampire, he could stop time, he could kill without effort, but comforting someone was an ability he felt he didn't quite possess. Since she'd started living with him, he'd become aware of the many things he lacked.

A little bit later, he'd also returned to his room, picking out a second novel he'd picked up, when he heard a dull knock as he was about to turn a page. Sunshine's knocks were usually energetic and a bit boisterous, accompanied by her saying something from the other side of the door, but this was isolated. Somewhat listless. Regardless, he stood from his favorite armchair, walking over to the door and opening it. "Yes, darling?" He asked, before he had even fully registered the way she had appeared before him.

He had never seen her dressed like this, looking like this. Her hair was, rather than its typical messiness, beautifully waved, brushing her shoulders and upper back lightly. Where she normally wore minimal makeup, if any, her eyes were dark and smokey with small yet sharp wings of liner, and her usually naked lips had something on them that highlighted their poutiness. Any trace of her crying had completely vanished. She wore a loose dark red wine-colored blouse with a long black knit cardigan over it, and a simple silver chain with some sort of round faceted stone—he couldn't quite pin down what color it was, which was odd. Her black jeans were tight, and she had actually worn slightly wedged black boots instead of her typical flats or sneakers.

For lack of a better word, she looked vampy.

"Come with me," she said, her green eyes dark with determination and pooled with a sort of focus he'd never seen from her at that moment.

"Come with you where, darling?" Dio asked, leaning against the doorframe, his muscles flexing as he crossed his arms, eyebrow arching in interest.

"A bar," Sunnie said, sighing, "Uptown Dallas. Cool vibe. Come with me." A pause, then a soft: "...Please."

"Alright, sweetheart," he murmured, noting how her cheeks flushed slightly as he walked back into his room, "I'll be ready in a bit. Take me where you will."

"Hm. 'Kay," she grunted, shutting the door for him.

Wanting to keep in line with her darker appearance, he dressed in all black for this outing as well, accessorizing with a few gold rings and a simple golden chain around his neck. His makeup for the night was simple. He wanted her to be the one shining, not him. They took a hired service to their destination, rather than Sunnie driving the two of them. (Sunnie said, 'parking in that area sucks ass, but also I wanna drink.') They were picked up by a white hatchback, the driver polite and welcoming. Dio and Sunnie slid into the backseat, but Dio was slightly surprised when Sunnie sat right next to him, buckling herself in and leaning against his arm. She quickly took out her phone and began to text someone almost furiously—Dio only caught a name at the top: Opie, surrounded by hearts and stars. He let her have her privacy, but she must have sensed his curiosity.

"My best friend," she stated, tapping another message after getting a reply, "Opie is her nickname."

Dio hummed, nodding. "I see. Reporting to her about the events of tonight?"

She snorted. "You fuckin' know it."

It was about a thirty minute drive to their destination. The Full Moon Bar's exterior was a deep red brick, mostly covered with twisting ivy vines crawling up to the flat roof, with dark-trimmed windows and short black wrought iron fencing around a small outdoor patio. A bouncer nodded to both of them and allowed them entry, and Sunnie grabbed Dio's arm, smiling and pulling him through the black French doors.

The inside was an odd and charming mix of fancy and casual: open, red-colored walls and dark hardwood floors with worn, studded leather or fancily-upholstered furniture, various electric chandeliers on the ceilings, a few of them draped in various colored beads and reflecting bits of brightly colored light around the rooms. The bar itself was a major focal point: it was a darkly stained wooden centerpiece, intricately carved and matching the ornate backsplash behind it where various liquor bottles were stored. Sunnie promptly dragged him over, seeming to zero in on a bartender with bright red hair and some beautiful chandelier-like tattoos cascading down her neck and into her shirt.

"I'll have a Texas tea," Sunnie said, placing her debit card in front of the woman, who beamed at her and took it.

"Sure thing, cutie! S'been a while," she replied.

"'Cutie'?" Dio hummed, bending low to hover his chin right over Sunnie's shoulder, "She's certainly correct. Are you acquainted?"

The woman behind the bar grinned. "I mean, I remember her. She complimented my hair a while back. I have a good memory, sure, but I'd remember anyone with gorgeous purple hair like hers." She pulled out a tall glass and reached behind her for a liquor bottle as Sunnie beamed at the compliment. "Will you be having anything, sir?"

He smiled, raising his head slightly. "I'll take scotch."

After their drinks were handed to them, Sunnie led Dio off through the bar, and out another pair of french doors onto a closed off patio with plenty of people at garden tables and filled with lovely greenery. She led him through another set of doors and into another part of the bar, then to a relatively closed-off alcove with a large worn-leather sofa and short coffee table. She sat down on the sofa happily, taking a few gulps of her drink.

"I'm glad this spot is open," she hummed, "I like it. Not as many people."

"It is charmingly quaint," Dio said, grinning, "Its 'vibe' is quite nice."

Sunnie laughed at him using her phrasing. "It is. This place is also a bakery by day. Fresh bread and amazing sandwiches." Her nose scrunched in thought for a second before she sighed. "I wish I could bring you here then. That patio is so pretty when the sun is filtering through the plants."

Dio's grin softened, touched by her thoughtfulness, and considered her for a few moments before leaning over, his large hand raising up and moving towards her neck. He didn't miss how her eyes momentarily widened, unsure of what he was doing, until he grabbed his query. "So, what kind of stone is this?" Dio asked, holding up the small gem on her necklace.

Sunnie's entire demeanor brightened, and she grinned. "This is lab-grown alexandrite!" She exclaimed, beaming, "It looks dichroic but it's not; it's actually pleochroic. They're different!"

"I'm assuming you're referring to how its color changes in different lighting?"

"Bingo bango bongo!!" she affirmed, "I got this necklace for myself as a present after my first two months of work at the school." She looked at the stone as Dio twirled it around a bit, watching it shift colors in the low light.

"You really do love minerals, don't you?" He said, almost as an afterthought, but she nodded happily.

"It's so cool how they're formed, and there's so many different kinds!! I've been collecting rocks since before I could spell—I should show you my original rock box. It says 'Sunnie's Rook Box' on it." She sighed, wide grin on her face as she leaned her shoulder back against the leather of the couch. "It started with me just saying, 'hey, I like that rock! I wanna pick it up and take it home,' and evolved into sorting and categorizing and learning about them. Then when my parents took me to the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology when I was like, eight, it was over. I was hooked."

Dio felt his heart swell, seeing the cheerfully nostalgic glimmer in her eyes, before it dimmed a bit as she looked back at the stone on the chain.

"Vinh got mad at me for buying this, you know," she said softly, "He said it was too expensive. That it was… frivolous."

"Do you enjoy the necklace?" Dio asked as a low rumble of anger settled low in his stomach.

"Yeah," she replied, a smile slowly spreading across her lips again, "Yeah, I do."

The anger subsided and he set the stone back against her chest, talons lightly touching the skin above the neckline of her blouse. "Then it was not money wasted," he said lowly, looking directly into her eyes, "That man is a damn fool."

She processed his words for a moment before nodding a bit. "...Yeah. Thanks, Dio."

After a rousing and, on her part, impassioned discussion (more of a rant) as to why lab-grown minerals and gems had just as much value as naturally-mined ones while having the benefit of not taking advantage of local populations, Dio offered to get their second round of drinks. Sunnie requested a whiskey sour, and he decided to get another scotch. Passing a new group of college-age men in the patio, he made his way back to the hardwood bar, where the same red-headed bartender gave him a good look up and down as she prepared two drinks at once, then cocked a dark eyebrow.

"She's not with the other guy she used to come with," she said idly, grabbing another liquor bottle and pouring it, "And she doesn't have her wedding ring on."

"They've separated," Dio replied, not elaborating as he glanced at his talons off-handedly. "One of the same for me. Sunshine'll have a whiskey sour."

She nodded and handed off a finished drink to a young woman before pulling out an old fashioned glass and getting the same bottle of scotch for Dio and pouring it. She then got to work on Sunnie's drink and slid the finished product towards him, giving him a wink.

"I think you're better suited for her anyways," she said, grinning before getting another drink request.

He blinked, momentarily confused by her remark, then took the drinks with him, following the path through the bar back to Sunshine, scoffing to himself.

Of course he would be better suited for her.

After crossing the brick patio, Dio looked towards the alcove Sunnie was at, noticing immediately that someone was talking to her.

The young man was quite a bit shorter than Dio, with curly sandy blonde hair, a square jaw, and a confident smirk playing at his lips. He reeked wannabe-playboy, his cocksure body language indicative of overcompensation for something.

Sunnie stared up at him, chewing on her straw and nodding along absent-mindedly as he spoke to her. Dio hung back, an eyebrow quirked up with interest as he heard gentle, playful metallic trilling. He looked down and saw Windy tittering as she picked around at the would-be charmer's shoelaces, easily tying them together and giggling before she vanished. Dio chuckled to himself, remembering how Sunnie had mentioned that she and Windy enjoyed engaging in trickery, before continuing towards the two.

"If you want to come hang out with us, we've got a spot open, you know," the man grinned, swaying his shoulders flirtatiously, "Cute little girl like you shouldn't be all by herself. C'mon, lemme give you some good company."

Dio came up behind the boy and leaned over him, reaching past him to set Sunnie's next drink down on the table and slid it towards her, his long talon resting on the rim of the glass. "She is, in fact," he hummed, voice low, "not alone."

The boy turned, his brows furrowed and lips parted as if to tell the interloper off, but the second he saw the man who stood again, towering over him, his breath hitched.

"Dio," Sunnie grinned, "Glad you didn't get lost."

"I'll always find my way back to you, my dear," he responded, his lips curling into a dark grin before he looked at the boy next to him, "...And who might you be?"

"Ch-Chase…" the man said, eyes wide, scanning Dio's features before settling on his teeth, likely noticing his long canines.

"Ah. Well," Dio moved past the boy, and Sunnie scooted to the side to give him room, "As you can see, she already has company, and if I'm to be honest, mine is far better than any you can provide." Sitting down on the sofa, he spread his arms across the back, crossed one leg over the other, and saw across the room a group of college-age boys watching the exchange, talking amongst themselves and clearly excited by the new development.

"A-are you her boyfriend?" Chase asked, stepping forward slightly despite his clear unease.

"Is that for you to know?" Sunnie asked, picking up her whiskey sour and glancing down at Chase's shoes, seemingly a bit put out that he hadn't triggered her little trap yet.

The boy's brows furrowed and he gripped his fists. "Yeah, it is. If he's not your boyfriend, you're fair game."

Sunnie snorted, sipping on her drink for a long second before looking at him. "Yeah, whatever the fuck that means."

Chase immediately took offense to being brushed off so nonchalantly, stepping towards the coffee table before the shoelaces trapped him, and he plummeted down, smacking his chin against the hardwood with a resounding thunk before falling to the floor. The group of boys watching him at the pool table broke into loud laughter as the few other people around them stared and talked amongst themselves, murmurs and giggles filling the room.

"Holy fuck Chase!!" "Dude, he just ate it." "SICK FACEPLANT!!!" "Yo, it's sixth grade all over again." "Bro I remember that–"

Chase struggled to get back up, bracing himself against the coffee table, staring up at Sunnie with a bit of blood beginning to dribble out of the side of his mouth, having either bitten his tongue or cheek during impact, and Dio grimaced. His blood didn't smell appetizing.

"Took quite a fall there, Chase," Sunnie hummed, and Dio looked at her, surprised to see a darkly amused sneer playing at her lips, nothing short of pure glee dancing in her eyes, "Not that great at putting your best foot forward?"

Chase didn't respond, sitting back on his ass, checking his sneakers and finally seeing the laces tied together. "What the fuck, you–how did you—"

"My hands were up here the entire time, champ," Sunnie responded, wiggling her fingers in the air as the man started working to fix his shoes, his hands trembling a bit, "What do you think I did? Tied your shoelaces together somehow while I was sitting here?"

Dio's interested half-smile became a full on, mocking grin, knowing that that's exactly what had happened. He decided he really liked this side of his companion.

"Well maybe it was him," Chase snapped, motioning his head towards Dio, who outright laughed in response.

"If you're under the impression that I would lower myself to the ground for you in any way, for any reason, you are sorely mistaken," he replied honestly, wanting to make sure that this boy knew his place.

His shoelaces finally untied, Chase stood angrily, fists clenched. "Bitch," he spat towards Sunnie, who rolled her eyes, absolutely unimpressed with the attempt to make her feel bad. And despite her nonchalant reaction, Dio took personal offense on her behalf.

The world around him came to a stop as he froze time.

Taking a page out of Sunnie's book, The World emerged from Dio, moving towards Chase and reaching for his laces.

"It would do you well to not insult my little human," he said, his advice falling on temporarily deaf ears as he took a sip of his drink, "She may be forgiving of such crudeness, but I am not."

The World let out a metallic chuckle as he finished looping the laces together once more, giving them a sharp tug to make sure they were interwoven enough. Pausing for a moment, the Stand then reached into Chase's pocket, bringing out a wallet and retrieving about ten $20 bills before putting it back in its place. The World floated back towards Dio and handed him the cash before sending Sunnie a fond glance and vanishing. Dio grinned and pocketed the money before assuming the position he was in before he'd stopped time and letting it resume again.

The conversations and music started right back up as if nothing had interfered. Chase's face soured, likely at Sunnie's reaction to him calling her a name.

"Whatever. You're like a two anyways," he said in an attempt to repair his wounded pride. Again, Sunnie snorted, clearly unbothered by the insult. As he turned to storm off, Chase plummeted to the ground again, landing on his side and hitting his cheek against the ground. The room immediately burst into laughter again, the loudest guffaws coming from his friends, one of them dropping his pool cue before falling to his knees, absolutely cackling at what had happened. Sunnie stared, wide-eyed and surprised as Dio took his turn to smirk, sipping from his drink. Face flush from rage and embarrassment, Chase cursed and tore his shoes completely off, stomping out of the room and through the patio.

"Dio?" Sunnie asked, and he looked down at her, finding her eyes sparkling with wonder. "Did you stop time and…?"

The edges of his lips drew up in a sinister grin. "What can I say, darling? You inspired me." He pulled the purloined cash out of his pocket, waving it in front of her. "The rest of tonight is on Chase, by the way."

Her eyes widened even more and she burst out laughing again, this time placing her drink on the table before she fell over on the leather cushion, laughter quickly turning into feverish giggles. Dio smiled, his heart warming, and she got back up, wiping small tears from her eyes.

"Holy fuck dude, you're something else," she said, grinning up at him.

"I'm well aware, my dear."

She giggled. "Of course you are." Sunnie hummed and sipped on her drink again, an amused look dancing in her eyes, "That's really weird. What just happened, I mean."

Dio looked at her strangely. "Tying someone's laces together with Windy?"

She laughed. "Oh no, I've done that plenty. I'm talking about a guy just coming up to hit on me. I've never thought of myself as hit-on-able."

His brows furrowed and his lips turned downwards. "What do you mean?"

Sunnie shrugged, as if what she said next was just the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, I mean, look at me."

"I am," Dio said, finding himself slightly upset with her sudden turn to self-deprecation, "And I find you quite beautiful."

The shock on her face was immediate. Green eyes wide, staring at him as if she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Mouth slightly agape, breath stuttering minutely. Seeing this, Dio felt anger rise in his chest once again, but not towards her: what lies had that miserable man convinced her of? Why didn't she see her own value?

But after the shock, he saw a flush rush across her face. Her lips closed and she gulped, glancing off to the side. "Uh–thanks," she muttered, "It, uh, it means a lot."

There was a pause between them, and it wasn't awkward by any means, but it felt… heavy. Dio looked into his glass, swirling the richly colored liquid for a moment before looking back up at her.

"So, if you don't mind me prying, little bird," he said, voice earnest, "what did you and that man talk about tonight?"

She turned back to him, gaze empty for a second before nodding slightly, seemingly gathering her thoughts. "He… he wants me to move back in with him. He's not happy that I changed my banking password and he's figured out that I don't live with mom and dad anymore—and he can't figure out how that happened, but I wasn't about to tell him I snuck my stuff out with a friend's Stand—and he's convinced I'm cheating," she said, the last word obviously bitter on her tongue. "I tried to call him out on having his dad try to follow my car, which he denied, but Windy and I know what we saw. Lixue and Ellison and my parents saw it, too, but he kept saying that it didn't happen, that I'm making things up. It's manipulation, and he's upset it's not working on me like it used to. He said that my fear of his anger is 'delusional', but I know it's not. Those bruises were real. The way I feel when he raises his voice is real. The way he destroyed our living room, the way he used the apartment alarm against me, those were real. It all happened." Her free hand reached up and she touched the small alexandrite gem hanging at her clavicle as she looked down at nothing in particular, deep in thought. "I have Dr. Renard to thank for this, but… I'm proud of myself. I was able to set boundaries and hold them. I was able to tell him what I wanted to see from him if he actually wants to make this work, because even if I'm the one who… even though I did what I did, that doesn't mean everything's my fault. That doesn't mean I'm the only one who has to change."

Dio was proud of her, too. He could tell that, during the relatively short time they'd known each other so far, she'd gotten stronger. Her husband used to outright terrify her, and while he still did, the way she had just spoken about her earlier experience with the man showed growth, and that she was handling the fear with more bravery. He could also tell, however, that she was still in so much pain. It was something he'd thought about often in his down time, and the more he thought about it, the more he supposed he understood. Dio was aware he was different. He was ruthless, above all: a killer whose ambition always made sure he was his own number one. Before he had escaped that night in Cairo, if someone didn't serve a purpose for him anymore, it was easy for him to discard them. But Sunnie was caring, and he suspected from what he knew of her marriage that her entire purpose revolved around seeking the approval of her husband since they'd met. She'd mentioned that she declined attending a better college that she'd been accepted to because she wanted to be closer to her future husband. She chose her major based on what he thought she should do, and he noted from pictures of her past he'd seen that she even changed her appearance after she met him, likely according to what he expected from her.

He heard her let out a breathy and resigned sigh, attention turning to her once more. "I know it's over, though. I know because I finally asked him," she said, her voice low and a little rough and her gaze far, far off as she took another drink, "I asked him if he'd ever love me again."

Dio glanced at her and felt his heart fall at the hollow look on her face. It was so forlorn, so mournful. "And his reply…?"

She took a second to think, tapping her fingers on her glass, before raising it to her lips to down the rest of her whiskey sour. She set the empty glass on the table and leaned back into the sofa. "Nothing," she said before looking at him, her smile humorless and forced and her eyes so desperately sad, "I asked him over and over, and he refused to answer."

She had a few more drinks before they elected to head back to the Foundation. He'd seen her drink before at the suite and was thoroughly impressed with the amount of alcohol she, with her small 5'1" frame, could consume before showing the effects of being inebriated; once, she had grinned at him and said, "That's the Irish side talking!" Dio took care of getting their affairs in order with the bartender and went back to fetch his human, holding his hand out for her to take so that he could make sure she didn't stumble, but for the moment, she seemed steady enough. They took another rideshare back to the Foundation, the duration of which she was happily snuggled into his arm, showing him videos about Saturn's various moons and excitedly talking about the possibility of life under the frozen crust of one of them. By the time they got to their destination, however, the alcohol had set into Sunnie's system: he knew because her words had begun to slur ever so slightly, so he told her to stay in the car until he could help her out. She grumbled about being 'fine' but complied, which of course was better for her in the end, because she took one step out of the sedan and nearly fell to the ground, and as he anticipated would be needed, Dio was there to catch her.

"'Fine', you said?" He teased, and she grumbled into his arm, "Would you like my assistance?"

"Yes," she said, exasperated, "Carry me."

He chuckled, sweeping her up into his arms. "As you wish."

Walking into the main Foundation lobby with her snuggled happily into his chest, Dio was surprised to see the elevator doors open as late as it was, and was even more surprised to see the occupant: with her deep teal hair and the immediately recognizable calming poise she carried herself with, the head Dallas Speedwagon psychologist waved and approached them. Sunnie's eyes widened and she grinned, happy to see the woman.

"Dr. Renard!" She giggled airily, making double peace signs at her.

Dio chuckled breathily at his companion's antics, but gave the doctor a respectful nod. "Rachelle. Late night?"

"Just finishin' a few things up," Rachelle said in that sweet and melodic Louisianan lilt of hers, a soft sort of gaze settling on Sunnie. "Let me guess, y'all went to blow off some steam at a bar after your meeting with your husband?"

"Yeaaaah," Sunnie confirmed, "Dio's making sure I don't fall on my ass. He's a gentleman," she said, patting his arm approvingly.

"He certainly is," Rachelle agreed, giving Dio one of her indecipherable yet knowing glances. "Well, I'll leave y'all to it. Take care you two～," she smiled, her voice sing-song as she waved goodbye to them. Sunnie gave her a happy 'byeeeee' and a wave and Dio bid the doctor farewell, entering the elevator and easily shifting his hold on Sunnie to one arm for a moment, using the other on the scanner before pressing the necessary buttons to get to their underground floor.

He quickly took her to her bedroom and set her down, and she swayed slightly, getting her footing before fumbling around for the switch to her string lights, switching them on and bathing the room in a soft multicolored light.

"That was fun. I missed that bar. 'S cool," she mumbled, Windy flashing into view and sweeping down to undo Sunnie's boots as her user braced against the wall. "There's a lotta cool bars I wanna go to with you." Windy disappeared and Sunnie kicked the shoes off, looking at Dio. "Help me with my cardigan."

He obliged, taking the black fabric off of her back as she shimmied her arms out and he took it, walking over to her desk chair and draping it over the back. "I enjoyed myself as well, Sunlight," he said, looking at some of the photographs she'd put on the wall: one of her as a young teen caught his eye, bundled up in warm hoodies at the edge of a lake with another girl the same age. Her friend had long brown hair in low pigtails, and she wore a long fleece hat shaped like the tail of a dragon. The same girl appeared in another photo of them, smiling at the camera with their heads in a carnival cutout of some sort. Perhaps this was the Opie that she'd been texting earlier? He turned to ask before his eyes widened and the words got stuck in his throat.

She was taking her clothes off.

It was just her blouse that she was unbuttoning, but she was doing it nonetheless. Startled, he slapped his hand on her desk, startling her as he turned to leave.

"H-hey Dio," she called over her shoulder, "Where ya going?"

Dio looked back at her, brows furrowed and lips drawn into a tight line. He'd seen her back before. He'd touched it. He'd slid his fingers down her skin, he'd drawn absolutely delicious noises from her mouth, but seeing her pulling her blouse off like that, looking at him with such an open and unguarded gaze…

He felt his lips twitch.

"To my room, of course," he said, hoping she wouldn't pick up on the tenseness in his voice as his gaze momentarily dropped to the satiny black strap of her bra before darting back up to her eyes, "You've had a long night. As fun as our outing was, you should rest."

Her mouth pressed into a haphazard line and she sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Night, Dio!"

He bid her good night as he shut her door and immediately made his way back to his room. Inside, he removed his clothes as quickly as possible, making his way to the bathroom and stepping into his spacious shower before he had time to think to do anything else. Under the heat of the water, he found his mind swirling, and it wasn't because of the quickly accumulating steam.

He remembered what she'd once said to him:

"It was a moment of weakness. I was an idiot. I hurt him and I had no right to."

He knew her circumstances. She'd been honest with him about her past. And while he did believe she was far too hard on herself for that very human mistake she'd made, he had decided early on that he would respect that boundary. He wasn't going to let his more basic desires get in the way of their friendship, which he found himself treasuring.

It annoyed him, though, how she didn't realize how beautiful she was. He thought from the day that he met her that she was captivating. What had her own husband convinced her of, what had he said to her to make her believe differently, what did he do to make her unable to see it? Why was that pest trying to get her to return to him if he didn't have the balls to admit that he wanted her to settle for a loveless marriage? Was it to save face for him? Was it pride? What kind of fool would prioritize that over her?

He growled, angrily rinsing his hair, his talons digging into his scalp harder than usual. He knew that dwelling on it would only infuriate him more. He knew that, without meeting and being able to analyze her husband himself, he wouldn't be able to understand that fool's motives. But if he ever did meet him… 

His jaw clenched.

That would be a thought for another day.

About an hour later, he found himself laying in his large bed, feeling restless. The thought of her was plaguing him. 

Maybe she would let him scratch her back again…

His thoughts were interrupted by three knocks on his door. Knowing it could only be one person, he rocketed up and crossed the room surprisingly quickly to open it for her.

She was standing before him for the second time in a night, this time not dressed up, but in her big old sleep shirt, face naked, toes flexing nervously. Her cheeks and the tips of her ears were still slightly pink, but there was a fuzzy focus in her eyes.

"Hey. Thanks for… for coming with me, tonight," she said, nearly stumbling over her words.

He looked at her, his head leaning to the side slightly. "It's my pleasure, darling," he murmured, "There is truly no need to thank me. I'm here for you as you need."

She pouted a bit. "I know, but still." Her fingers fumbled with the hem of her shirt, allowing him the quickest peek of black lace underneath, and his hand twitched. She wasn't wearing her sleep shorts.

"Well, again, I'm sure you need to rest," he said, the tension in his voice as well-disguised as he could get it. He needed to go, his head was drifting off to places it probably shouldn't. She'd been drinking. She was too vulnerable. It would be unwise. He moved to walk to his bed, and she made a panicked, worried noise.

"Um… Dio," Sunnie started, and he turned back to her, seeing her brows furrowed and fists clenched as the flush on her cheeks deepend, "I'm not—I don't think I'm good to sleep on my own tonight."

His shoulders slackened and he gritted his teeth as she shook slightly and looked down at the floor; he had a feeling what she'd say next.

"Earlier tonight, the way he…" she paused, her eyes blinking rapidly for a second, "...the way Vinh yelled at me, the things he said and did…"

All inappropriate thoughts left him in less than a second—she needed his help. He once again closed the distance between them, taking her chin in his hand and turning her face up to capture her eyes with his. "Did he lay his hands on you?" Her eyes widened and her lips parted, and she tried to look away, but his grip was firm. "No no, look at me. Did he lay his hands on you in any way?"

She gulped, then sighed. "He grabbed and… squeezed my wrist, and at one point he tried to slap me."

Anger flared in his chest at the mention of the attempted attack on his little human, but he continued. "He tried?"

A small grin crept across Sunnie's lips. "Windy caught his hand."

Dio felt his eyebrows raise, and he grinned as well. "Well, I'll be damned. You actually used your Stand against him!"

Sunnie nodded slowly, the events from just hours earlier playing in her mind.

"Vinh, listen, I—" she gulped, skin cold with sweat and her shaking hands clenched, "I just… I just think you could benefit from some anger management—"

"I don't need anger management, Lauren," her husband seethed, "You need to get your shit together. I can't believe you lied to me about having an interview, did you even think about how I felt about it?? You had a perfectly good job working at the school and—"

"You wouldn't have wanted her to go to the interview," Carol interjected, sending a sorrowful glance to her daughter as she curled up on the sofa, "They wanted to meet her because of Windy."

Vinh froze, turning to Sunnie with a tight jaw and wild eyes. "Somebody else knows you have that thing?"

Sunnie's eyes widened in fear as he stalked towards her from across the room.

"You agreed, you swore that you would show no one else," he said, voice rising in anger, "And you lied again. That's all you do, isn't it? Who was it? Some man, like last time?"

The second she saw his right hand raise up, she remembered Dio's words.

"She could have at least defended herself."

Vinh's hand came down and was caught, mid-air, by Windy, as a soft burst of air pushed out around her, knocking over some of the less sturdy decorations on the coffee table and rustling the leaves of the peace lily by the fireplace. Her mom gasped and her dad grabbed his wife's hand, no one but Sunnie able to see the Stand as she floated over her user protectively, fingers flexing around the man's wrist. Vinh struggled against the invisible grip, and the wind kicked back up around them before he stopped, watching Sunnie's hair begin to whip around in the wind she was creating.

"L-Lauren, what are you doing—"

"I'm not letting it happen again," she said softly as her brows drew down over her eyes, lips pressing into a firm line, "I'm not letting you leave another mark on my body."

Blinking out of her reverie, Sunnie giggled. "Yeaaaaah," she said bashfully, "Tonight was kind of… my way of celebrating."

"And truly, what a thing to celebrate," he said, thumb running across her cheek. "Would you like to sleep in your room, or mine?"

She mulled the thought over in her head for a second, alcohol-flushed cheeks puffing slightly, before she nodded with finality. "Yours."

"Mine it is," Dio said lowly, stepping to the side to let her in. She smiled and walked towards his bed, then stopped.

"Oh, oh fuck! I forgot Koshu!"

Dio cocked his head to the side. "Your stuffed bear?" She pouted and nodded her head, moving to go back to her room, but Dio held his hand up. "I'll fetch him. You get comfortable, my dear."

There were still some boxes to unpack in her room, but Sunnie had effectively made the space hers; she'd gotten a bookshelf and had arranged her wild variety of different books on it, from copies of the U.S. Constitution and different political tomes to various novels to one book about a capsized freighter of rubber ducks to a large collection of an illustrated series called Pink Dark Boy. Being the avid reader he was, Dio was tempted to ask if he could borrow some more of her books sometime, but that was for later.

He was on a mission.

He walked over to her low bed, rooting around in the multiple blankets and duvets and pillows and quickly found his quarry: Sunnie's old stuffed bear, Koshu.

The thing was well-worn, and she'd finally given it a second eye again, haphazardly sewing in a turquoise button for a quick fix, and some of the dark cloth covering the plastic nose was long worn away (she said she chewed the nose as a child). Sunnie said that it was a gift from her parents when they first brought her home from the hospital, and had since been a constant companion of sorts.

He didn't need to press the stuffed toy to his nose to know it smelled thoroughly and completely like her.

Dio smiled and returned to his room, bear in hand.

Sunnie had gotten onto his bed, and it positively dwarfed her—seeing her walking around on the mattress in circles on her knees for no apparent purpose was actually rather comical, but to her credit, she was still slightly sloshed.

"Soft," she said, the second she noticed he'd entered, "Bed's soft."

He chuckled, walking toward her and showing her the bear, which she immediately made grabby hands at. He gave her Koshu and she hummed happily. "I presume the accommodations are to your liking, then?"

She beamed at him. "Yes～."

He laid back against the pillows on his headboard and reached his hand out, gesturing for her to join him. Without a second thought, she crawled towards him and curled up against his chest. He smiled, arm wrapping around her and holding her securely to his side as her cheek rested against his skin. The World appeared and pulled the blanket over both of them, looking down and smiling as well before switching the bedside lamp off and disappearing back into Dio.

She nuzzled into him for a moment before breathing in deeply and sighing. "You smell good," she murmured, causing him to laugh lightly.

"I do?"

"You always do," she affirmed, "I like your smell."

He hummed appreciatively. "I'm going to be honest with you, darling, that's one of the stranger compliments I've gotten in my lifetime."

He could feel her eyebrows scrunch up in thought. "Wait, so it's not the weirdest?"

"No, actually."

"Hm. I'm gonna have to try harder, then."

There was a long silence between them as he felt her breathing beginning to even out, before he heard her speak again, voice small:

"...D'ya think Jonathan woulda liked me?"

He paused, brows furrowing and eyes blinking a couple of times. What caught him off guard wasn't the question, it was the reaction in the left side of his body: there was a flare of heat, followed by the tingling sensation he'd been feeling from time to time. As it ebbed away, a strange swirling warmth was left in its place—it was comfortable and welcoming.

He knew that Jonathan was still with him. He had become aware of that fact years ago when, one night, Jonathan's Stand had manifested; spectral thorned vines with roses that bloomed in the moonlight, his connection to the Joestar bloodline. Jonathan's presence allowed him to keep track of the Joestars, and actively prevented him from gaining complete control of his body. The extent to which Jonathan was there, however, remained unknown to him.

But he knew—he felt—what Jonathan would have said.

He opened his mouth to answer, but realized she was already fast asleep, round cheek pressed into his chest as she breathed softly against his skin. She was warm, and he could faintly smell the alcohol on her, but more than that, he could smell her hair, he could smell the moisturizing lotion she used. He could feel the beat of her heart through her wrist, how the bed moved as her toes wiggled slowly against each other.

She was so… comfortable.

Dio didn't need to sleep, really. But something about her, snuggled up next to him so perfectly, made him want to indulge himself.

He smiled, reaching over with his other hand to move his fingers through her hair. She made a soft little noise, fingers curling above his ribcage, and he let his hand drop back down.

And that was how Dio, dressed in a soft black button-up shirt (the first few buttons undone, of course), black slacks, and some new shiny shoes he'd purchased, was in the shotgun seat in Sunnie's oddly spacious little blue car.

The music in the car, in contrast with the heavy rock music he'd heard her playing in her room from time to time, was bright—some infectious dance tune that had her head bobbing and body swaying in time with the beat as she drove, smiling excitedly as she softly chanted "soosh, soosh, soosh" at various intervals. Dio wondered what exactly it was that had made her so happy, but chuckled amusedly as she bounced in her seat and pulled off onto a ramp heading north, and the music changed to something lower tempo, but still electronic. She hummed along with it, and a little while into the song, she began to giggle.

"Aaaaaah, here it comes, here it comes!!" She wiggled, and began singing with the music, "I promise to build a new world for us twoooo, with youuuu in the middle…"

And then the song exploded into bright, excited pulsing and drums, and she danced in her seat accordingly, grinning widely the entire time. He was impressed with her apparent skill at seat dancing while driving, he had to admit, but seeing her express her happiness so openly and so genuinely brought a smile to his face as well.

Fifteen minutes later or so, she'd pulled off the highway and onto a street that led them to what appeared to be a group of stores that were predominantly Asian, with a large grocery store that seemed Asian in nature as well. There were at least two dim sum restaurants that he could see, what looked like a small Korean bank, among other things like salons and cell phone stores. Sunnie took a left and drove to the outer section of the shops and neatly parked the car.

"We're here!" She chirped, shutting the car off and unbuckling herself, getting out of the car.

"A nice and easy drive," Dio remarked, exiting the car as well.

"Ever been to a revolving sushi place before?" She asked, shutting her car door.

Dio followed her as she trotted excitedly across the parking lot and through the light autumn rain to a door beneath a lit sign that said 'Kitsune' with a cute brushstroke fox next to it. "I have not, little bird," he hummed, "What's the occasion, if I may ask?"

"Oh, I got the courage to shut Vinh out of my bank account today," she laughed, face absolutely beaming, "so the meal's on me!"

He looked at her with a sly smile on his face. Good for her.

They reached the door, which Sunnie pushed open and they walked through, but not before Dio caught various people who were milling about in front of the stores and restaurants gawking at him–good, he always did love a little ego boost. The young man in all black at the front welcomed them and Sunnie happily gave her name ("Green, party of two, booth reservation!") and an employee came up to receive them and guide them through the restaurant.

It was dimly, yet warmly lit, the wood stained beautifully and the seats padded with dark leather, and, to his mild surprise, a winding conveyor belt throughout the main room. On the belt, plates with sushi covered by clear domes snaked their way around the room at a casual pace. Most of the seats were bar-style, but Dio saw, as they walked, several booth tables tucked away towards what seemed to be the beginning of the conveyor line.

The waitress sat them down at one of the booths and placed two drink menus on the table.

"Hi there, m'names Marissa, and I'll be helpin' you tonight!" She said in a sugary sweet voice, "Have y'all been here before?"

"I have," Sunnie smiled back as Dio inspected the moving plates with interest, "I'll explain it to him."

The waitress nodded. "I'll be back in a second for your drink orders!"

As she turned and left, Sunnie patted the table happily, turning his attention from the plates making their way past them to the small woman across from him. "So! Figure out what you wanna drink–"

"I already know what I want, my dear. Explain to me how this," he pointed his clawed finger up and twirled it around in a few circles, "works."

"Oh! Well, here's the revolving part of 'revolving sushi'," she said, gesturing to the moving sushi plates, "They're under these domes, see, but all you gotta do is grab the plate right here, under this little spot–" she reached up and grabbed a plate with her thumb under a semi-circle cutout on the dome, and the dome easily lifted up and she pulled the plate away and to the table, sliding it to Dio. "When we're done with it, we slide it into this spot down here," she pointed at a slot at the base of where the table met the wall, "and it tallies up the cost based on the number of plates. Simple?"

"Delightfully so," he responded, taking a pair of chopsticks out of their paper packaging, "Do you want one of these…" he looked down at the sushi in front of him and tilted his head.

"Kappamaki," Sunnie told him, getting her own chopsticks as well, "It's just a cucumber roll, nice and refreshing. But you can have those, I have a little ritual to carry out first…" she sat up on her knees and looked at a touch screen, scrolling through options and making a selection, "I always start out with niku udon. You make the selection on here and it comes to you on the linear conveyor belt above the sushi one. They have things like karaage, ramen, and you can also order specific sushi if they keep vanishing by the time they get to you, but since we're near the front of the line, that won't be a problem."

Dio picked up his first piece of kappamaki and popped it in his mouth, the bright crunch of the cucumber just as refreshing as Sunnie had said it would be.

"Is it good?" She asked, eyes sparkling, and he nodded.

"It is indeed," he responded, reaching for a shallow dish and pouring some soy sauce for himself, "If all of the choices are of this quality, tonight will surely be a feast."

Sunnie laughed. "No worries there, big guy, they're all really good, from what I know."

Marissa came back around and took their drink orders—Sunnie ordered a lemonade, and Dio opted for 'an entire bottle of your most expensive sake', and when Sunnie shot him a glare, he added sweetly, 'to celebrate'—and by the time their drinks arrived, Sunnie's niku udon had zoomed towards them on the linear conveyor belt. It was in a smallish stoneware bowl with handles and a second bowl on top, which she unclipped and removed to reveal a savory-looking broth filled with thick noodles, thinly sliced beef, scallions, and what Sunnie said was a 'kamaboko slice'. Dio smiled as she said an excited, "jaa, itadakima～su!" and immediately began digging into her dish, and he poured himself his first glass.

"So," Dio asked, sipping the sake, "Is this a date?"

She choked a bit on her udon, and he laughed as she swallowed, her face red and brows furrowed.

"Asshole!!!" She gestured accusingly at him with her chopsticks, "That noodle nearly went up my nose! Fuck you!!"

"You can take your time answering, dear, I don't mind."

"It's not that!! It's—you say things that throw me off!!"

He grinned smugly. "I do?"

She slammed her elbow on the table and pointed right at him, rising on her knees to stare him down closer. "Don't be a little shit. You know you do," she growled, narrowing her eyes at him.

His grin only widened, and his canines glinted in the low light.

"See??" She slapped the table, pointing again with eyes burning just as bright as her blush, "See??? You DO know!!!"

Dio laughed again, eating the second piece of kappamaki. "I do."

Sunnie sat back in her seat, leveling him with an intense glare before slurping down more udon and tearing almost viciously into a piece of beef, grumbling to herself.

"...So, is it a date or not?"

"No!!"

"If you say so."

"It's just to celebrate, and you're my friend. So I brought you," she stated, slurping up more noodles.

"Why not ask your other friends? You've said that you miss them," he asked, not taking his eyes off her as he pulled another plate of sushi without even glancing at the type.

Sunnie paused, brows furrowing in thought. "It's… I mean, it's just that you're basically the first person I can really share my whole life with." He raised an eyebrow, smirking, and she flushed again. "Not like that, Dio. Like… you know what's going on in my life. A lot of them don't, because I don't want to involve them. I don't have to hide that from you."

"You don't have to hide anything from me, Sunshine. Not your scars, not your bruises, not your Stand," he said softly, "Though at this point, I feel like it's in your nature to hide."

She stared at him blankly, tapping the end of her chopsticks on the table for a few seconds before breathing in, looking at her bowl, and slowly breathing out. "...You're not wrong." She slurped up the last noodles in her bowl, picking it up and draining the broth. "I've had to hide parts of myself my entire life. You know, 'don't tell people about what you can do, Sunnie. They wouldn't understand. People might try to hurt you'—remember, we're in the south. I'm not sure how much you know about things down here, but we've got an oddly high number of megachurches, especially in this area. There are plenty of people out there who, if they knew, would probably want to try to exorcise me. Not to mention, my parents worked for years to be able to adopt me. I overheard them a few times; they were scared I'd be taken by like, the government or something. I couldn't put them through something like that."

Dio watched her like a hawk as she reached up and grabbed a plate of three pieces of sushi before they passed by. "I didn't grow up with a Stand, actually," he said, pouring a little more sake into his cup, "I've never considered the implications of having such abilities from birth. It must have been hard to navigate, as a child."

Sunnie shifted in her seat, popping a piece of nigiri in her mouth and chewing for a moment before swallowing. "I mean, yeah, sort of. When you're a kid, imaginary friends aren't that weird, and the shit you say gets written off as you being over-imaginative. I only started understanding Windy's power and that no one else could actually see her when I was like, four, and by the time I was five, I knew to keep her hush-hush. I felt like a freak. Like in some way, I could never truly get to know anybody." After taking a long sip of lemonade, she sighed. "It's kind of alienating, y'know. There was always something that I would know but I couldn't say. I couldn't really be honest with my classmates."

"Was keeping such a big secret from them difficult for you?"

She shrugged. "I read a lot of comic books as a kid. Superheroes and stuff, y'know? And a lot of them had to keep secrets too. I always thought Superman's design was a bit basic, but I figured that if a country bumpkin journalist nerd could grow up without people knowing he could fly and shoot lasers from his eyes, I could do it too, so to speak."

He figured that made sense. As they took a few minutes to eat, he found himself looking back up at her over and over, before another question made its way out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"So," he broke the silence, an interested twinkle in his eye, "Tell me, aside from your spectacular secret keeping, how did you handle being a child with superhuman abilities?"

Sunnie, who was sipping her lemonade from a straw, nearly choked on her drink with snorting laughter. "Fuck, dude are you kidding? I was a menace!!" She grinned widely, snickering to herself. "So I have these family members, right? They call themselves Catholic, but they're this… like, really extreme…? I don't know how to describe it, but fuck I hate them. Except for one, she's kinda crazy in a good way. Anyways, so like," she settled back in her seat, absolutely beaming as she recalled the past events, "Carrie Anne, who's like my dad's cousin or something, she likes to pinch your cheeks and baby talk you and be weird and shit, so one time when we were staying over at their place when I was, like, six, I had Windy start to move things here and there. Small but noticeable, you know? A picture frame turned backwards, some flowers on the other side of the table. It drove her nuts. She rushed us out and cut the reunion short so she could try to get an exorcism or something."

Dio let loose a deep laugh. "Was it just them that you bothered?"

"Fuck no! Imagine, you're a wild child with the ability to not only control wind, but to also pull the sickest pranks of all time. That's exactly what you gotta do!" Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "At that point, it's an obligation. Rolling pencils off desks, tripping people I didn't like, just small little ways to make things fun and amusing for myself."

He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and resting his chin on the top of his interlocked fingers. "Just small?"

"I mean, I did lose control a couple of times. Once when I was in second grade, some third graders made fun of one of my friends, so I climbed on top of the giant cement tube on the playground and waited to ambush them when they walked through it. We got into a fight, three guys against me, and after scrapping a bit with them, I blew them all off of me when the teachers ran up to separate us. It wasn't that bad, but it just sort of… happened."

"Heat of the moment?"

"Yeah." She ate another piece of sushi, chewing it thoughtfully before swallowing. "No one got hurt. Well, besides their pride. A girl a whole year younger than them took them all on. It was the talk of our grades for like a week. They didn't talk shit after that, though." She looked at him curiously, her head tilting to the side. "I know you're like, evil vampire man and all, but have you ever done anything dumb with The World?"

He hummed, eyes narrowing mirthfully as he took another sip of sake. "I once scared a French man shitless by repeatedly moving him down the stairs in stopped time when he'd try to ascend."

She barked out a laugh. "No one should hold that against you. He was French."

Dio chuckled, shaking his head.

The rest of the dinner was spent with good food and good company. Finally feeling full, Sunnie chose plain cheesecake as a dessert, and Dio indulged in some as well, at his companion's insistence. After the bill was paid (Sunnie's eyes bugging when she saw the price of the sake, then sighing and telling him 'You're lucky my job pays well, asshole'), they left the restaurant and drove back, the remaining sake in a brown paper bag that Dio happily carried. The return trip was spent conversing as well, music playing in the background and the occasional bout of Sunnie spitting frustrated curses towards particularly poor drivers.

When she crossed the threshold into their shared suite, Sunnie happily kicked off her shoes and took off her hoodie. "That was a fucking good meal," she hummed, satisfied.

"Indeed it was," he agreed, taking his shoes off as well and mussing his hair, "Here, little bird," he added, holding the bag with the sake out towards her. She looked at him and then the bag, surprised.

"Oh?"

"A gift," he continued, "A celebration of your new slice of freedom."

Her eyes met his again and her expression was blank for a moment before her face soured comically. "So you had me buy my own gift, basically."

"Yes," he chuckled as she took the bag from him, rolling her eyes.

"Welp. It's the thought, I guess. I'm gonna drink some of it, then." Placing her backpack on the hook she'd installed, she swept off to the bar. "You want a glass, big guy?"

"No thank you, dear," he responded, sitting by his favorite arm of the sofa and grabbing The Elegant Universe back up, opening to his bookmark, "I've had my fill for tonight."

"Right-o," she signaled, getting a small cup and heading towards the sofa as well, "How d'ya like that book, by the way?"

"It's quite fascinating, if I'm to be honest," he said, shooting her a dazzling smile, "Greene has a fantastic way with words."

"He does!! He's a lot like Carl Sagan, in that sense," Sunnie grinned back, pouring herself a bit of the sake and downing it easily, eyebrows raising. "Wow, smooth. But like, Greene is able to speak about complex scientific concepts in a very accessible way. It's something I strive for, especially when I was a STEM teacher. You can't introduce people to the wonders of science if they can't understand what the fuck you're saying."

"I suppose not," Dio nodded, "Is there any reason why you chose this book in particular for me, though?"

She shrugged, a sheepish look on her face. "I mean, you are from an alternate dimension. I thought it might interest you."

He considered her explanation for a moment, then tilted his head, amber eyes glittering with appreciation. "You thought correctly."

The next hour and a half was spent discussing various scientific topics as Sunnie made her way through some of the sake, relaxing more and more as time progressed. Her cheeks were beginning to become rosy, the tip of her nose a cute pink, and her words were blurring slightly into each other—but only a bit.

"See, so that's like, what I've always wanted to do," she stated matter-of-factly, chomping down on another sea salt and vinegar chip. "It's dumb but I wanna do it."

Dio shook his head as he looked up, shoulders shaking lightly with laughter. "Navel bacterial cultures," he said, amused, and she immediately puffed up to defend herself.

"It's interesting!! Everyone's belly button microflora is different!!" She thought for a second, and her eyes lit up. "Probably their ass cracks, too!!!"

Dio let out a deep and resounding belly laugh. "Darling," he said once he caught his breath, "I don't know how many willing volunteers you would get for a swab of their ass crack."

"I could do it if I paid 'em," she said indignantly, a smile on her face nonetheless, "Money. S'the great motivator."

"That's true," he hummed, laying back against the corner of the sofa. There was a comfortable silence for a minute between them before Sunnie spoke again.

"Happy fuckin' birthday to me," she mumbled happily as she took another long swig of the sake, finishing her cup, and Dio's eyes shot up to her, surprised.

Birthday? Did he hear correctly?

"It's been an insane journey around the sun this round, but I'm in a better place now, I think," she continued, eyes unfocused, "Better job, I'm away from that shitbag… Yeah, I'd say I'm doin' pretty well."

"Why didn't you say it was your birthday before, Sunshine?" Dio asked, confused. She just laughed warmly and waved her hand dismissively.

"Naaaw, well it isn't much of a big deal, is it," she responded, getting up to pour herself a glass of chilled vanilla rum. "Just another rotation around our closest star, another year on this complicated ball of rock… time passes. I get older. That's just how it is."

She walked back over to the sofa and took a drink of her rum before plopping back down.

"Hey, Dio," she looked at him expectantly, "Can we watch a movie?"

He regarded her for a quick moment before nodding. "Of course, darling."

"A horror movie?"

"Anything you wish."

She grinned and turned the TV on, pulling out her phone and switching to one of her apps. "Good, 'cause I have a good one. It's called Coherence. I mean, it's not horror horror, but it's a thriller. Horror themes. Sci-fi, too. It's an excellent low budget film." Her phone connected to the casting device, and Windy popped out, switching the lights off before returning into Sunnie. Dio was mildly surprised, however, when Sunnie scooted right up against him, snuggling into his side as she took another few gulps of rum. The movie began to load, and she looked up at him, cheeks flush from drink and contentedness. "Thanks, man. Tonight's been great."

Strange woman.

"It's always my pleasure, Sunshine," he replied, smiling. She hummed and turned to the TV, settling comfortably against Dio, who huffed a small laugh and brought his arm around her as the movie began to play.

The Twenty Second of October.