That night was quiet and relaxed, like all the rest.

Niko decided to stay at the port for a couple of days for supplies and to see what would happen if he stayed for a bit.

Mallomor was in his usual cheery mood, though the wedding made him a bit more hopelessly romantic.

"Do you think that'll be us one day?"

Niko looked down at the dark water beneath the pier. "I wouldn't mind if it were so."

Mallomor hugged Niko. "I can't imagine the future going any other way."

Niko felt that nothing more needed to be said.

At the houseboat, Niko rested on the couch while Mallomor bounced off the walls.

Niko soon lost his patience for it.

"Calm down for a second, I'm trying to think!"

"Sorry."

Mallomor changed the subject. "Your dad mentioned that you being a faery only explains part of your behavior. He mentioned that there's something else going on in your head, a diagnosis. Something that I've never heard of before-"

Niko stood up. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't finish that sentence."

Mallomor's tail swished, nervous that this change in his boyfriend's composure. "Why?"

"What did he tell you?"

"Just a few of the symptoms. Something about 'executive functioning' and that you're very impulsive and blunt."

"Good. I'm going to take a shower now. Never bring it up again."

Mallomor was stunned silent.

Tsarina went out to see how Mallomor was doing. Seeing he was troubled, she rubbed up against his goat leg. She saw that his tail was no longer an arrowhead, but a heart.

"What's up with him? Is it fatal?"

Tsarina shook her head. It wasn't the easiest thing to deal with, but far from fatal.

"Is it misunderstood?"

Tsarina nodded.

"Well, I understand that.

Still...I thought he would discuss such things with me openly."

Tsarina stared at him with amber eyes.

"I know it's been two weeks, but...

I can't imagine my life without him. He's so charming and intelligent and genuinely caring. He's unlike any human, or, rather, fae, I've ever met. I love him dearly..."

Tsarina could only handle Mallomor's gushing for a while before walking away.

"What? Tsarina, he's my boyfriend! Let me gush for a little bit, please!"

After his shower, Niko showed Mallomor a clip explaining why he hated disco. It was the video of "Do the Shake" by the Village People from their movie "Can't Stop the Music".

Yes, The Village People made a movie. Yes, it bombed. No, it's not very good. Moving on.

Mallomor added such insightful commentary as "Am I too old to understand this innuendo?"

"Age has nothing to do with it.

I know what vanilla is supposed to be, but not chocolate."

Mallo leaned against Niko. "Chocolate milkshakes sound good."

"Yes, they are good."

Mallomor had a question for Niko.

"Can I enter your mind?"

Niko was taken aback. "Why? Wouldn't my body reject you?"

"Not if you allow me in."

Niko was suspicious. "Why do I want in?"

"I'm just curious to see what's in there."

"You know what's in there already. I talk to you all the time, and you've seen my art."

Mallomor wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

"Do I? How much can you really know someone? I keep on finding out new things about you."

Niko sees that Mallo has a good point.

"So I have to see what's going on in there. I don't like being left of the dark."

"Fine. Will I get sick from it?"

"You might be a little nauseous and get akilter, but you can handle that."

On the border of Niko's consciousness, he met two guardians.

One was a black cat, lithe and sparkling green eyes. Its bones were exposed.

The other was a white dog, stocky and with dewy eyes. They were made of slime.

The Cat spoke first, suspicious of Mallo. "Do you promise to respect Niko's privacy?"

"Of course. Are there any specific areas that are off-limits?"

The Dog spoke next. "Oh, you know, like sexual encounters."

"I thought Niko was ase-"

The Cat interrupted him. "He realized that too late."

Mallomor blinked. "OK."

Niko's consciousness was what happened when you took 1980s nonsense, surreal fantasy, gothic horror, metal album covers, put them in a blender and hit the "super fine" setting.

Mallomor knew it wasn't polite to stare, but when you see a four-headed, purple, buff mouse, how can you not?

After asking the locals for directions and getting flirted with by a floating skull, Mallomor went to the memory archive.

It was a glass tree, mirrored rather than transparent. Mallomor didn't even bother opening the doors, he just phased through the walls.

The place was empty and dead silent. Not even the humming of the ancient light bulbs or the chirping of the birds outside could be heard. The place was filled with tapes, as if it hadn't been updated since the 80s.

Mallomor found a tape labeled "First Kiss", dated over a decade ago.

A lime green smile approached him, the only curator of the collection. Even then, they didn't do much.

"You're Niko's boyfriend, right?"

"Yes, why do you ask."

"If you watch that tape, you might get jealous that some other guy is kissing Niko."

Mallomor scoffed. "I'm not a child.

By the way, how does this work?"

After Mallomor understood how tapes worked, he and the slime, who was named Kiev, got some popcorn and watched the memory.

The video quality was hazy and dreamlike. Niko was following a boy no more than fifteen, deep in the woods.

"How old is Niko here?"

"Somewhere from fourteen to fifteen."

Mallomor took note of the chubby, fair skinned, brunet boy.

Kiev spoke. "He's not half as cute now as he was then. Being a demonologist will do that to you."

The boys were deep in the woods. Niko spoke. "Fine, is this private enough for your secret?"

Otto seemed wary, but nodded. "Yes, this is good."

"So, then, what is it?"

"I'm gay."

"So?"

"Y...you're okay with that?"

"I'm not about to lose my best friend over something so trivial."

Otto couldn't breathe easy just yet, though.

"I also have a crush on you..."

You could see in real time, Niko's composure going from calm and standoffish to a nervous wreck.

"What? Me? Of all the boys you know, me??"

"Nobody said love was rational. Can I hug you?"

Niko nodded, still dazed. Otto and Niko weren't too affectionate with each other, normally keeping themselves occupied with talking or doing some other fun activity.

Niko held Otto tight, as if he was afraid to lose him.

Otto hadn't seen Niko in distress like this before.

"Are you alright?"

Niko sighed. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. I'm just in shock."

Otto held Niko's hand. "Are you gay?"

"I don't know! At all! That's the problem!"

"It's OK, Niko. I can help you with that." Otto winked.

"Fine, how will you do that."

"How about you kiss me?"

Niko blinked. "Are you sure about this?"

"What do we have to lose? It's a free country, and nobody's watching."

Niko was still nervous. "It's my first time..."

"It's OK, it's mine, too!"

Still shaking, he kissed Otto. Lightly, on the lips.

He didn't expect to enjoy it.

Niko pulled back, startled.

"What happened?"

"Looks like I am homosexual."

Otto tilted his head. "So, uh...do you want to date?"

Niko's mind was swirling with thoughts, ranging from excitement to complete dread. "M...maybe? It's risky to go from friends to lovers."

Otto placed a hand in his shoulder. "Are you going to tell your dad."

Niko chuckled. "No, I'm going yo gaslight him. 'What do you mean I didn't tell you I was homosexual. I told you last week!'

Otto gave him a hearty laugh. "With an attitude like that, is it any wonder that I got a crush on you?"

Niko's disposition was nervous once again. And that was the end of the memory.

Later that night, Niko found Mallo hovering over him.

"Can you tell me about your first kiss?"

Niko smirked. "Funny, I was just thinking of it...wait..."