kiss debt

Io is in the midst of a deep nap when the rumbling drawl of Clarabelle breaks through the nice cool dim. “Io, sweetie?” 

“Mmm?” He mumbles in response, his eyes still closed.

Clarabelle chuckles, a deep and hearty thing. “What the heck do you think you’re doin’ in my walk-in freezer?” 

He cracks an eyelid open, and discovers that yes, indeed, he is in the walk-in freezer of the Dairy Heir. He wracks his slightly-addled mind for the exact moment that he had decided to come in here, but comes up short. All that’s there is the very pink form of Clarabelle and a vague cool sensation. 

“Dunno. Napping, it seems,” he says, blinking the sleep out of his eyes and stretching his arms out. His hand bumps into what seems like an empty carton, and things crystallize a bit in his mind. “Oh, and I think I was sampling the goods. It was hot outside, and there was both ice cream and escape from the heat in your lovely establishment’s fridge.” 

“That’s what I thought was happenin’ when I came back here,” Clarabelle says, a grin spread across her face. She tries to set down the broom she was holding, and accidentally sends it toppling to the floor when it slides off the shelf. She winces, and then completely ignores it. “I thought I was about to have to shoo off some critters, you were snorin’ so loud. Thought some imps were ‘samplin’ the goods’.”

Io grabs Clara’s hand as she outstretches it, pulling himself up. “I’m much prettier than an imp.”

She doesn’t let go of his hand as he pulls himself up, tugging slightly so Io tumbles into an embrace. “That's real true. But you're still a varmint samplin’ my goods. What ever shall I do?”

He grins, falling into her arms easily and without resistance. He shifts to dramatically lay a hand over his forehead like a damsel in distress, “I guess I may just have to find a way to pay you back for the whole… one carton of ice cream. And whatever rent may be owned because I passed out in your freezer.”

“Mmmm, a hefty price tag,” Clarabelle chuckles again. “I think you can pay off your real steep debt with some real easy work.”

Io looks up at her and raises an eyebrow, smirk on his face. 

“You owe me a date night, at least one edible, andddddd….” she drawls out. She gives Io a small squeeze. “A kiss.”

She barely has to finish her last request before Io is reaching up to try and pull her into a kiss. However, as cute as he intends it to be, the angle is all wrong. The previous bit has them back-to-front, and Clara can’t lean down far enough at the same time that Io can’t lean his head back enough. 

Clara bonks her chin on Io’s forehead, and recoils enough instinctively that they separate. Io twists around, making sure that Clara’s head is alright. Clara also leans in to make sure she hasn’t given him a concussion. 

Once they’ve both passed cursory inspection, they both break into giggles. Clarabelle’s laughter is low and hearty, and Io’s rings out in short lazy peals. If anyone was outside the freezer waiting to grab some extra cartons, they’d have absolutely no clue what’s going on. 

Clara has to lean onto a nearby shelf as she struggles to get her breath back, almost knocking a full tray onto the floor. That sends Io into even deeper laughter, crumpling to the floor. 

“Babe,” she struggles to get out. “Babe, that was like a negative kiss.”

“Does this mean I’m still in kiss-debt?” Io asks through his laughter. “Did that make my tab worse?”

“Yeah, you’re deeper in debt now, surely,” Clarabelle asserts. 

“Well,” Io gets to his feet with a mischievous grin. “Seems like I’ll just have to work hard to find some better-working ways to pay that off.”

She raises an eyebrow as she watches Io drag a full box of frozen treats in front of where she’s standing. “I don’t think those are a fair trade for my kisses,” she pushes herself off the shelf, standing up straight now. “I get more than enough ice cream for free here.”

“Let me cook, let me cook,” Io says. He shuffles over to another part of the freezer, and puts some effort into trying to lift it. It doesn’t move on the first lift, and he immediately gives up on that one. He moves to the next one, much lighter, and carts it over on top of the first one. 

Clara puts a hand over her mouth, muffling her laughter. She has to let him cook, of course. He lets her cook when she has very good ideas. Like this whole debt thing. This was absolutely one of her best.

Io steps back, examining his stack for structural integrity. Satisfied despite his lack of architectural knowledge, he clambers up it. It gives him enough height to be face to face with Clarabelle. 

He reaches over, pushing her bangs out of her face to look her in the eyes. There’s a moment of actually intense eye contact, and Clarabelle can’t help but grin at this goofball. Io can’t help but grin back. 

“Kisses delivery,” Io deadpans. “I hope my interest rate isn’t too bad, I never read any of those documents.”

She leans in and kisses him silly, if he can even get any sillier.