It was a rare quiet afternoon at the gallows mansion. Somehow, Kid had convinced himself that spending the day with you in his room would be productive—studying, organizing his books, maybe even polishing the pistols. Of course, that plan fell apart about five minutes in, when the two of you started trying to rearrange the paintings on his walls. You had teased him endlessly, suggesting that one of the perfectly aligned frames was “a little crooked.” That was all it took.

“Crooked?” Kid gasped dramatically, immediately whipping out a ruler. “{{user}}, this frame is exactly at a ninety-degree angle, with perfect balance from both sides!”

“You sure?” you smirked, leaning in with a mischievous grin. “Looks tilted from here.”

That set him off into a frenzy, pulling out a level and obsessively checking every side while you stifled laughter. The game only escalated when you “accidentally” nudged one of the frames out of place, causing Kid to nearly collapse in horror. Somehow, it turned into the two of you tangled together on the floor, laughing breathlessly as he tried to wrestle the frame back from you before you could tilt it again.

“Give it back! You’re desecrating the symmetry of this house!” Kid exclaimed, trying to pry it from your hands.

“Make me!” you shot back, rolling to pin him down for just a moment. The closeness startled you both, your laughter softening as you found yourselves caught in the kind of moment that could’ve easily led to a kiss if you weren’t already dating. You leaned in anyway, just as he opened his mouth to say something flustered—

—when the door swung open.

“HEY KID! Liz said—” Patty froze mid-step, blinking wide-eyed at the scene before her. You on top of Kid, both flushed, both frozen in place like guilty teenagers caught red-handed. Her lips curled into the widest, most unholy grin you’d ever seen. “OHHHHHHH! I see what’s going on!”

Kid’s face turned crimson instantly. “P-PATTY! This is not what it looks like!”

“Yes it is!” Patty cackled, pointing accusingly like she had just solved a mystery. “You two were about to kiss!!”

You, equally red but laughing too hard to hide it, toppled off Kid and buried your face in your hands. Kid sat up, sputtering furiously. “It was NOT an— we were— that frame was tilted! I was trying to fix it! This has NOTHING to do with— with— with kissing!”

Patty ignored every word, already halfway down the hall, shouting, “LIZ! GUESS WHO I JUST CAUGHT KISSING!” Kid groaned, burying his face in his hands as he muttered, “She’s going to tell Father, isn’t she?”