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When Boris started this quest, he knew he’d find himself in some probably strange situations. They were off looking for the Ink Machine, a thing people have died and killed to get. It was not unexpected that they'd be in strange, if not deadly situations.
What he wasn’t expecting was to play dress up.
The Illusion of Living, a book rumored to be linked to the Ink Machine, was going to be sold off to the highest bidder tonight at some charity auction. While they didn’t have the money to bid on it, they had the skills to steal it. All they needed to do was get into the place and into where all those precious items would be stored. It was up to Cuphead and Bendy, despite Boris’s many protests, to go in and steal the book while Mugman and Boris were out on the lookout.
The problem was, they were still wanted criminals. Because of that, disguises were needed. Now here he was, with his brother, fixing up some suit Cuphead stole from who knows where. Boris didnt sit on it though, they all knew worse had been done.
“Look at you! See what happens when you put in a little effort?” Bendy laughed, nudging his elbow into Boris's side.
Boris rolled his eyes as he smacked a fake mustache on his face. It would work well enough. Bendy and Cuphead had already finished their disguises. Cuphead wore an eye patch while Bendy simply drew some whiskers on and messed with his horns, making them look like cat ears. The only one missing was Mugman which was shocking. He expected him of all people to be ready by now.
“Where’s Mugman?”
“Gettin’ dolled up. He takes this stuff real serious.”
Cuphead shrugged as he looked back at the map on the table. He grabbed a small black box and threw it at Boris. Opening it up, he saw an odd shaped earpiece. Boris put it in his ears as Cuphead adjusted his. Boris hadn't a damn clue where that was placed but as long as he could be heard, he didn’t care. A door at the end of the hallway opened up. Boris's eyes widened.
Mugman came out in a teal flapper dress, heavy make up caked upon his face with a pearl necklace and some headpiece with a large pink feather. Though what truly caught Boris's attention was the bright smile on Mugman's face. For so long he’d seen him with his face scrunched or his eyes widened with rage. The way his face beamed and his eyes lit up made Boris melt, heart thumping as Mugman spun around.
“Tallulah Piccalo is ready!”
Mugman laughed, coming to a stop. Bendy and Cuphead cheered as Boris continued to gawk. But when he got his wits again, Boris let out an annoyed groan.
“We are so nailed…” Mugman looked over confused.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean nobodies going to buy a jacked flapper!” Boris exclaimed.
“Then Tallulah practices all sorts of dance! You’d be surprised how jacked dancers can get.” Bendy explained.
“Yeah! ‘Sides Mugsys pulled this disguise a bunch and it ain’t ever failed us yet!”
But would Boris fail them? Mugman looked beautiful, smiling and twirling around. He was already getting distracted and he was just spinning around! But he had to, for his brother. He couldn’t get distracted by the beautiful man he’d have in his arms for the entire night, he had to play it cool.
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It was much easier said than done.
Boris couldn't even keep his cool in the limo, freshly stolen by the cup brothers. His eyes kept darting to his side, stealing glances at Mugman. He really did try to pull his gaze away, but he couldn’t. The way his porcelain shined under the limo lights was hypnotizing. Boris's eyes trailed over him, from his ruby red lips to the sea foam beads of his dress.
“So, we all ready right?”
Cupheads voice made Boris realize what he was doing and his face burned with embarrassment. He turned his head to the side and nodded half heartedly.
“Mugman, you might need to take the lead. Boris is terrible at improv.” Bendy snicked from the drivers seat.
Bendy was right, especially now. Boris would explode right on the spot. Mugman simply gave a thumbs up as the car rolled up to the entrance. Instantly, Boris stiffened.
Despite the blackout windows, Boris could make out the crowds of people. Paparazzi surrounded the entrance and all of Mugman's confidence fell straight to the floor. Immediately, Boris heard deep, heavy thumps. At first he looked around the car, wondering if something broke down. It wasn’t till he focused on the sound did he realize it was a heartbeat.
Mugmans heartbeat.
Cuphead panicked as he realized how many people were there. They had come much later than everyone else? Nobody had time to think about it, as the limo door swung open. The doormen looked confused as he looked inside and saw Mugman pressing himself deep into the seats.
“Cmon Mugs! You got this!”
Cuphead whispered, trying to stay out of the doormen’s line of sight. Mugmans hands relaxed at his brothers words but everything else stayed stiff.
Boris looked between the pair and the doormen. Sooner or later hed realize they weren’t supposed to be here and the whole plan would go down the drain. He had to think fast. Instinctively, Boris grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Mugmans panic shifted towards confusion as he looked over, well now it was Boris' turn to panic. He took a deep breath and pushed down his worry as he looked at Mugman right in the eyes.
“It’ll be okay.”
Boris could barely say the words as anxiety made his throat close. Frankly he didn’t even know if those words would even mean anything coming from him. But they did. Mugmans tense expression relaxed, his heart slowing down. He held Boris's hand as the pair went out of the car. The second the door slammed shut, Bendy stepped on the gas and the car sped off. Mugman stood still, squeezing Boris's hand before taking a deep breath.
“Alright, are you ready?” Mugman asked, asking despite him looking more stressed out. Yet Boris said nothing as he nodded.
The pair quickly walked down as the paparazzi were distracted with much more important people. They reached the entrance where a man held a list, scanning through it and letting each person in. Boris' stomach churned as their time got closer and closer. Cuphead had told him not to worry, saying he’d switch the list out for a fake with their name on it. But he hadn't seen him yet and every step felt like he was getting closer to getting caught. Finally, it was their turn.
“Names?” The man asked, glancing up at the pair.
Mugman cleared his throat before he spoke, putting Boris’s hand just above his waist. The wolf's face went red as his hand went stiff. It made sense of course, it helped sell the regal couple look, but no amount of logical thinking stopped his thumping heart.
“Tallulah Piccolo,” Mugman said, springing out a high pitched southern accent. “With my dearest Tom.”
He smiled at Boris, who half heartedly nodded in return. Could you blame him? When a beautiful man smiles at you, it's extremely hard to act normal. The man flipped through the pages and shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not seeing your names here.” Shit, they were in for it now.
“Hey, new lists here. Apparently the last half was missing some names.”
Cuphead came in, wearing some security uniform he stole off some man who was probably knocked out in a storage closet. He handed the doorman the list and skimmed through it. The doorman’s eyes caught their names at the very end of the list.
“Thomas the Wolf?” Boris nodded, giving Cuphead a grateful smile as the dish slid into the ballroom. The doorman moved out of the way as the security guards opened the door.
The room was grand, to say the absolute least. Heavy chandeliers, gold trimmed staircases, and tables filled with the wealthy class giggling amongst themselves surrounded them. In the middle was the dance floor where loving couples danced to the slow songs.
“How good are you at dancing?” Mugman asked, looking around the room.
“I mean Bendy was always the better one, but I ain’t too bad.”
“Perfect.” Mugman grabbed Boris's hand and dragged him to the dance floor.
They found a spot between the couples and stiffly got in position. Boris's hands stayed robotically at Mugman's side, almost hovering. When was the last time he’d danced with someone like this? His anxiety grew as he felt the eyes of the other dancers. Some snickered while others whispered words of pity for Mugman.
“Are you trying to get us caught?” Mugman hissed as he tried to move Boris around to at least mimic a dance.
“It’s been a while!” Boris whispered, his head coming down in embarrassment.
“You could start by relaxing your hands!”
He had him there. His hands relaxed and held Mugman's waist. The mug's face dusted with pink before he continued speaking.
“Now relax your legs. You have joints, use them.” Mugman took the lead, moving forward then backwards at an easy rhythm. Boris focused on that, the simple sways and steps of the dance. It helped distract him.
“Now was that so hard?” Mugman teased and Boris couldn’t help but laugh.
Suddenly, the music changed. Gone was the slow piano and violin, and in came the trumpets and saxophones. Jazz like this was Boris's specialty. This type of music was easy to dance to, second nature thanks to Bendy's love for it. A hint of mischief was found in Boris’s eyes as he looked back at Mugman. The dish looked at him, confused but intrigued as Boris truly took the lead.
This time, there was no awkwardness in his movement. He knew this music well and he moved along with it, tapping his feet and holding Mugman as he followed along. The smooth sounds of the sax led them through their dance as Boris grabbed Mugman and pulled him chest to chest. His anxiety got the better of him for a moment, but Mugman's looked nothing less than happy and the ease following his steps made him feel better. Three steps forward, three steps back, and a twirl helped the pair relax. His tail wagged happily as the music swelled up. As the climax came, he pulled away and twirled Mugman out. His eyes widened with pleasant surprise as he let out a laugh.
As the trumpets let out their final roar, Boris decided to try something new. He didn’t know where he got the nerve to try this, probably all the adrenaline of the music, the dancing, and having someone so beautiful in his arms. Doing one final spin, Boris anchored himself as he wrapped his arms around Mugman and dipped. As the song's end echoed through the room, the pair stared at each other for what felt like forever. At that moment, all they could hear were their own ragged breaths. Boris's confidence left with the song as he quickly picked Mugman up and took his hands off him. Yet his tail still wagged around, becoming a blur of black behind him.
“I didn’t know you could dance like that!” Mugman panted out, face beaming with joy and a little bit of sweat.
Boris shrugged shyly, picking at the fur around his neck. “Hard not to when your brother loves the stage.”
“Boris! We're heading over to the vault right now, how’s everything looking?” Well speak of the devil. Boris jumped at the sound of his brother in his ears, looking around as he remembered what he was supposed to be doing.
“Ah, yeah yeah! Everything’s good.”
Boris muttered, looking around. So far all the security guards seemed none the wiser to the heist that was about to happen. He’d even go as far to say they looked a little bored. Perfect.
“Good good, me and Cuphead are about to go in. Keep an eye out.” Bendy said before hanging up.
“What happened?”
“They’re about to go in, gotta keep an eye on security.” Immediately Mugman's face went stern as he remembered the mission.
The two started to dance again, but this time it was much less romantic. But Boris didn't mind regardless, they already had their fun. They danced around, looking at the security guards hidden in the corners of the room.
“People are staring at us…” Mugman muttered, looking around and the glances being thrown their way.
“They’re probably jealous they don’t have a pretty lady to dance with.” Boris's remake seemed to ease Mugman's mind as he gave him a bashful smile.
“You think I’m pretty?”
“Just focus on what's important.” Boris huffed out, when'd he get so bold?
The pair continued to be on the lookout and all seemed normal. That was, until a security guard in the corner of the ballroom started to walk to the hallway where the vault was. Mugman saw him and panicked, tapping on his earpiece.
“Cuphead! Guards heading your way!”
Immediately Mugman's face went sour and Boris couldn't help but laugh. Knowing him, he probably said something about not being too worried about it. He didn’t know how much he could trust that dishes judgment though. Thankfully, his brother was a bit more reasonable.
“Boris! You there!?” Bendy asked, the audio now getting static. Had something happened?
“Yeah, what’s up?” Boris asked, worry in his voice.
“Get going! We got the book and they still haven’t found out.” Well at least Bendy was safe.
With just one look, Mugman understood that they had finished the mission. Calmly, Boris held him close once more as they walked towards the exist. They were so close to this mission going off without a problem. Boris would be damned if the exit was what got them caught. To his credit, he and Mugman did everything perfectly. They walked with grace and were everything but suspicious. At least he could say it wasn't their fault and they did all that they could.
A burst of red and yellow flames came from the hallway of the vault. Barely escaping being charred coming out of the flame was Bendy and Cuphead. Bendy was flung over his shoulder like a sack of rice as Cuphead ran straight towards the exit. Boris' jaw dropped as Mugman let out an annoyed groan. Grabbing his straw, he turned it into a sniper. Mugman aimed it at the chandelier between Cuphead and the guards and shot it clean, crystals exploding and giving his brother a way out.
While Cuphead and Bendy were safe, they were not. A security guard yelled at them, pointing them out to his friends nearby. They started to surround the couple and Mugman looked back at Boris.
“Can you do that thing you did in the forest?”
“Can you promise not to kill them?” Mugman rolled his eyes but nodded.
Immediately, Boris picked him up. Throwing him over his shoulder and holding onto his hips. Thankfully, there was a lot to hold on to. Boris sprinted as Mugman shot behind them. Tables and chandeliers exploded as gunshots hit them. Boris didn’t even want to see the mess going on behind him. Slamming into the door, Boris flung it open and sprinted through the parking lot. Mugman shot the balcony above the door, stone falling and covering the door. At least that would buy them a little bit of time.
Thankfully, they didn’t need it. The limo came to a screeching halt in front of them and the door flung open. Cuphead greeted them with a smug grin.
“Need a ride?”
“Yes actually,” Mugman said, looking over to face Cuphead.
“What were you thinking?!”
Mugman yelled. But before he could get his answer, guards came from the front. In a panic, Bendy hit the gas.
“We can talk about this in the car!”
Boris exclaimed as he ran after the car. It wasn’t fast enough to get out of reach, but it was fast enough to start to get the guards off their trail. Boris feet stomped against the ground before he flung him and Mugman into the car.
They hit the ground with a nasty thud as Cuphead slammed the door behind them.
“Welcome!” Cupheads greeting was quickly cut off as Mugman grabbed his throat.
“What the hell were you thinking?!” Mugman yelled as he shook his brother around.
“The dynamite fell out! It wasn’t intentional! It was lit with a candle!” Cuphead explained as his head flung around.
“You’re lucky we got out in time!” Mugman said as he let his brother go. His harshness melted as he looked at Boris.
“Are you alright?”
Boris didn’t know if it was the sincerity or the eye contact that made him so flushed, but he nodded. Mugman sighed before giving him a sweet smile.
“Good.”
He sat down on the limo seats, relaxing as the city lights shined on him. Boris could've gotten off the floor at this point. But he was too focused on how every moment that passed, Mugman just looked more and more beautiful.
God, he was really in for it now.