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Adelaide paused, hiding for a moment just out of sight of what customers remained in the dining area, and looked up at the ceiling in exhaustion. It was finally winding down; Wednesday nights were usually pretty average, and that night hadn’t been any different to the norm. It had been pretty generous with the tips, which pleased Adelaide immensely. They weren’t a requirement, which made it all the sweeter when someone thought she’d done a great job and lined her pockets with a little extra.

Peering around the doorway, Adelaide saw the last of their night customers packing up and idling out of the restaurant chatting happily. Coming out of her hiding hole, Adelaide smiled at the couple with a cheerful wave goodbye. Cleaning up their table was easy and quick, and she returned to the kitchen with her arms loaded heavily by plates and cutlery. She entered butt first, pushing the door open and swinging around as she came through. “Last batch, Cody!” She said happily, setting the plates down on the dirty side of the sink so that her younger friend could rinse and load them in the washer. 

“From customers, anyway! I’m starving!” Keen eyes turned towards the cook, a small smile on her lips. “Please say you saved us something?” She begged, but didn’t wait to hear the reply (she’d honestly be shocked if nothing was kept for the hungry staff) and darted back out onto the floor to begin the cleaning process; wiping down tables, refilling condiments, and stacking the chairs so that the floor could be washed once everything else was done. It didn’t take her too long to get it all into proper order, especially with the help of the other girls, and they were finished not too long after closing. Adelaide farewelled the couple of girls that were being picked up, and planned to eat at home — who would eat at home when you could eat here?!

Adelaide made her way back into the kitchen to find Cody finishing up with the last of his work. She went to the sink and scrubbed her hands clean, and then made her way over to where the cook was standing, nose wiggling in anticipation at the delicious smells that were coming her way. Being a rabbit shifter, Adelaide didn’t eat meat, but her veggie diet was rich and far reaching. She wasn’t let down as she picked up her plate, either, filled to the top with a large salad; there were cherry tomatoes, mint leaves, cucumber and Thai spices. “Oh, thank you!” She gushed, moving over to the small table the staff used for breaks.

A part of Cody demanded that he take his time doing the last of the dishes so that he could linger at the restaurant as long as possible but he knew that wasn't cool and he couldn't really be mad at his parents for the grounding. He definitely deserved it, even if he felt like 'forever' was a bit extreme. So he worked at his usual pace (also wouldn't do to have his boss mad at him for slacking off) and was just wrapping up when Adelaide came back in after all of her day-end tasks were completed.

He had no idea how she always talked the cooks into making her things that he was pretty sure weren't even on the menu but her energy and smile were infectious so Cody stuck with that as his leading theory. She made everyone around her happy and possibly inspired others to gift her with magical food. He didn't eat at the restaurant that often since most of his dads were amazing in the kitchen. It usually depended on if the one that was better at ordering out than cooking was in the kitchen that night or if something on the menu really called out to him.

Tonight, he had a burger on his break since they accidentally made an extra patty and it smelled so good. So he didn't have any food when he sat down in the break room with his friend but he had a bit of time to kill before being picked up and wanted to catch up. Sure, they went to the same school and sometimes texted but it wasn't the same as chatting in person and with a bit more freedom and with less random interruptions of other friends. He flopped into the chair across from Adelaide and then leaned over the table to sniff and inspect her salad. He wasn't a master in the kitchen just yet but he was pretty sure he recognised some of the spices and nodded in approval over what was legitimately her rabbit food. Cody wasn't picky when it came to food and proved it yet again as he swiped one of her cherry tomatoes and popped it in his mouth with a grin. "Anything new and exciting going on with you?"

“Hey! Get your own!” Adelaide grinned, jabbing playfully at Cody’s hand with her fork as he made off with one of her cherry tomatoes, scowling good naturedly at him; at least until she lifted the fork full of delicious salad to her own mouth and began to chew. Silence stretched between them as she ate her first mouthful of food, but as she swallowed, a wicked smirk touched her lips and she eyeballed Cody meaningfully. “Nothing as interesting as I hear you’ve been into!”

Keeping secrets was nearly impossible with the way the grapevine worked amongst their friendship groups, and Adelaide was sure at least some of what she had heard was true. Some of it seemed a bit extreme, like that Cody had invited a vampire over to his home was just too much to be true – everyone knew you didn’t invite vampires to your home! But she had no doubt that he’d at least been in the company of a vampire, and that was exciting and scary all at once!

“I heard you kissed a vampire!” Adelaide said on a sharp whisper, leaning forward and emphasising the word of choice, her eyes sparkling as her nose twitched excitedly. She wasn’t sure what would be better; if he had, or if he hadn’t!

"Addie!" Cody whined his friend's name and gave her a massive pout as he slumped back into his chair. Of course she already knew what happened, though she probably also heard a lot of the crazy rumours as well. He slid down his chair a few inches and continued to pout as he considered what he wanted to share; and how much he recalled.

"I battled him in PoGo and he's so old that it's a custom to have drinks to celebrate a good battle. That was a little weird since it's only a phone game, y'know? But he's so cool!" Cody brightened and sat up straight again. His excitement over his new friend outweighing his punishment.

"He told me so many stories and he's not creepy like you'd expect most vampires to be from movies and horror stories the parents like to toss out. And he bought me my first drinks!" That was also one of the weird yet cool things about that night. But he was glad he found a nice vampire! Even if he was a bad influence.

"No kisses but definitely hugs! He gives strong bear hugs," Cody burst into a peel of giggles as he realised what he said but it was accurate! Tight and cozy. Karl was definitely on the approved hug list. If he was allowed to socialize ever again.

Adelaide giggled at Cody and his dramatic response to her teasing. She let him be dramatic without comment, instead taking the moment to eat some more of her delicious salad, blowing a kiss to the chef on duty when he glanced her way, as thanks for the food – no matter how often they fed her, she was always laid on the thanks; they didn’t have to feed her such delicious food, but they did, and she appreciated it more than she could ever say. So she said so frequently.

“Oh! That’s so funny!” she giggled at the idea of an old vampire playing Pokémon Go on their phone. For some reason it just struck her as hilarious. Adelaide played the game a little, but could go weeks without logging in to check up on her little monsters. But then she was sitting up straight and staring at Cody with wide eyes. “You drank?!” she gasped, her entire face a portrait of shock. “But you’re not old enough!” Then she leaned in closer, over her salad and stared at Cody intently. “What did you drink?”

She was far more interested in Cody’s illegal voyage into the bar and drinking than she was of this apparent Karl being good at giving hugs. She was pretty sure Vampires didn’t just hug people. They wrapped them up in an iron grasp so they could drain you of blood, not snuggle! Maybe that was the vampires’ intent? Get Cody comfortable with him so he could taste his sweet, sweet Shifter blood? Adelaide leaned back, so she was sitting up properly. She took another forkful of her salad.

“Yeah, I think the drinking and breaking curfew is what earned me the being grounded forever more than the hanging out with a vampire,” Cody went back to sulking, lower lip jutting out with practiced ease. “Forever is so long!” Humans thought they had a decent life span but he’d be lucky to be ungrounded before his mundane friends were grandparents. He was going to have to work hard to prove he wouldn’t do it again and earn back the trust his adventure had shaken. His mom even said she was Disappointed! He felt that capital D on the word as well and it had made his already queasy stomach that night even worse.

“We had beer—it was kind of gross. But not as bad as the scotch! That stuff burns and made my nose and upper lip go numb.” He giggled again as it was kind of funny now as he re-enacted the way he had poked both multiple times to make sure they hadn’t fallen off. It was a strange reaction to have immediately after swallowing something but it also quickly faded. He explained how he stuck with the beer after that, finding it a bit easier to handle and it didn’t seem like he was expected to toss it back like the scotch.

He pulled out his phone to check the time and sighed. “Popsicle will be here any minute to pick me up. Part of the being grounded thing. Not allowed to walk home after work for a while.” He didn’t blame his parents since he could sometimes get a bit distracted. After all, that was how he ended up befriending Karl. He had only meant to drop some pokemon in the gyms on his way home that night, not end up in a battle and then telling stories over drinks.

Adelaide laughed, “Well it is forever!” she teased, sticking her tongue out at Cody, playfully. Still laughing softly, she collected the last of her salad onto her fork and then put it in her mouth, chewing while Cody lamented about his distaste for alcohol. “I don’t know why everyone is so anxious to be legally allowed to drink the stuff,” she said, scrunching her nose up and grimacing. “It smells gross! I can’t imagine it taste any better!”

Pulling her own phone out, Adelaide considered her text messages for a moment before stuffing it back in her pocket. “My sister will be here to pick me up,” she said, smiling at little at how being picked up was a part of being grounded for Cody; Adelaide had no desire to walk home after work! “Do you think you’ll be allowed to go to the Park this weekend?” she asked, turning her curious gaze upon Cody. “I promised the twins we could spend the day frolicking.”

Usually they would spend time changed just playing in their backyard, which was home to all kinds of fun obstacles and rabbit toys purchased from the local petshop. But sometimes, it was fun to head out to the park and play in the wilds. It was even more fun – and safer – to frolic with the bear cubs that was Cody and his siblings. That kept away the true foxes who might take a bunny for a snack.

Cody slumped in his chair again and shook his head. "Probably not. That would be considered fun and socializing. I'll ask Paw if he can take the Es though." All of his dads were great with him and his siblings but Paw especially seemed to have the patience and energy to keep up with the twins. Maybe he could earn back some points by doing yard work that day and let the rest of his parents relax in a relatively child-free house.

His phone vibrated with the expected message from Popsicle and Cody sent back a quick reply he was on his way out. "Gotta go. But I'll text you later with any updates," he promised as he got to his feet and shoved his phone into the pocket of his jeans. His messenger bag was along on and he gave a final pout for good measure before finally giving in to the smile that was more often found on him. And with a wave to his friend, he was out the door.